Collision of Fate
by Iroel
Summary: Though the journey may end, the story will not. Conflicts and tragedy arise, and only few will survive, but not unscathed. Keep reaching for happiness. SxS, Semi-explicit sex scene, chpt 17 R&R please. Updating as much as possible. T for suggested themes
1. Introduction: Syaoran's Decision

**Chapter 1: Syaoran's Decison **

Iroel's Note: Please know that this is a work that has been developed by two people (the other two would like to be known as Fir3 Element and Summontearz), myself included. Also, this is my first fanfic I've (along with the other two) ever submitted. (Yes, I decided to use French, so, no, nothing's wrong with your computer).

Disclaimer: We do not own Tsubasa or the characters (except for one we've made that you will see later on), but I do own the plot starting from this point.

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Prélude:

If there are individuals who are unlike one another, it is certain that their fates are different as well. But what if, a collision occurred bringing individuals, very different from each other, together. Most likely, we think that these people, very unlike from one another cannot possibly be companions, friends, or even lovers for their fates will ultimately separate them in the end...

However,

Here we have five very different people: a grumpy ninja, a cheerful magician, an innocent princess, a small white creature, and a young archeologist. The ninja, grumpy with the white creature for eating his food, the magician laughing at the mischief caused by the creature, and the brown-haired boy and girl, just looked at each other and simply smiled…

Et donc il commence/And so it begins

_Chapitre un: _Syaoran Décision

"So," Fai started as he took some food and ate it (the chopsticks were very hard to use for him), "what world are we on now?"

"Probably another weird one… (Why do you take food from only my plate white manjuu?)" Kurogane responded.

"Mokona feels a strange power." the white little creature spoke after some time. It seemed rather sudden and random, but everyone knew what it meant.

"We should probably start looking for the feather on this world." Syaoran started.

"And how do you know where the feather is on this world?" Fai asked.

"I overheard a few men talking about a power that's at a nearby castle. Even though it's completely devastated by the enemy, they're saying that there's a princess who is still alive in that castle, holding off the invaders with that power."

"We should start off towards the castle. The sooner we find the feather, the sooner I can get back to my world." A thought occurred to Kurogane, "By the way, did you happen to catch the name of the castle we should be looking for?"

"I think they called it the Shirasaki castle. But it probably won't do us any good-" Syaoran didn't have time to finish. Instantly, Kurogane dashed off towards the door, he had to get to that castle.

"_Hell, I probably said something I shouldn't have_." Syaoran thought as they took off after Kurogane.

Behind them, though no one took notice, the waitress yelled for them to pay for the food, but it wasn't any good, they were gone.

"_How could I have not noticed?" _Kurogane glanced around as he ran, everything seemed so familiar now.

"_God dammit._"

The sun was out, revealing the beautifully landscaped world. Tall looming mountains in the horizon, and thick forests dotted the land. Perhaps if Kurogane wasn't in a rush, they would all enjoy some time relaxing, after it's been a while since they've been on this journey. However, Kurogane continued on to the woods, still maintaining his speed.

"Wait up!" Fai yelled as Syaoran and Sakura were struggling to catch up while Mokona sat on Syaoran's head.

Kurogane did wait, but not because of Fai's request. In front of him were five ninjas, clad in black and uniforms marked with in a style which Kurogane knew very well. Strangely, Kurogane was surprised, perhaps too focused on reaching the castle to pay attention to the men jumping from tree to tree. The rest caught up only to find Kurogane pull his sword from his sheath, poised to attack. Syaoran put Mokona on top of Sakura's head and followed in suit, pulling Hien from his sheath and stood ready, knees bent and sword pointing straight at the enemy. If these men were in any way a threat, he would have to protect Sakura.

"Remember Kurogane-san," Syaoran whispered, but, as usual, he doesn't get to finish. The men lunged forward, daggers in their hands. Faster than Syaoran had ever seen, Kurogane swung Sôhi as he flew forward, its cold grey steel dismembering the attackers. Blood flew in the air as the sword was sheathed, but Kurogane did not kill them, he couldn't afford to, but with the amount of blood lost already, they'd be dead anyway.

Syaoran walked up to the struggling men on the floor, Hien still in his hand, and the memory of a conversation with Kurogane in his head. Five times the tip of the blade went towards the ground, and each time, one would no longer struggle.

"Syaoran-kun…" Sakura trembled.

"Let's move on." Syaoran barely whispered as Fai walked by without his facade of smiles.

Kurogane didn't feel weird, or strength leaving him, hell, the kid had saved him. Kurogane felt sorry for the kid, being forced to kill, possibly, for the first time in his life. No doubt Sakura was still horrified by Syaoran's actions, still unjustified to her, after all, she didn't know.

"_Damnit_," Kurogane thoughts shifted as he walked by the corpses, "_The enemy's still persistent_."

It seemed strange. No one spoke for a while, but what would there be to talk about? Sakura was still trembling inside.  
"_Syaoran-kun is gentle, no, he's not a murderer, he had to kill those men didn't he?_ Sakura still couldn't shake off the feeling, the feeling that everyone was changing, not in the terms of strength, but their soul. Often she wondered in what way they would change and now… No, Sakura couldn't bring herself to even thinking that.

The moon was out when they finally stopped. Standing high on the edge, Kurogane looked down to see the very castle which he had gaurded for so long. And now before him was a sight of splintered wood and blood were strewn across the floor. Corpses of the ninjas who fought to protect their beloved hime along with the enemy, who were bent on destroying the palace, lay on the ground, rotting and covered in blood. Kurogane started towards the castle, only to be stopped by Fai.

"That wouldn't be wise Kuro-run."

"Dammit, this isn't the time. Let me pass."

"I can't let you go down to that palace, not today. The enemy may be lingering. Seeing how they're ninjas, I assume it'll be safer to go in daylight when they won't have an advantage over us. Also, didn't you mention there being monsters here?"

"I agree with Fai-san. We should camp here and wait until tomorrow to enter." Syaoran looked with curiosity at Sakura, who still hasn't said a word after the encounter with the ninjas.

"Is there something wrong, Sakura-hime?"

"No, I'm just tired." She responded.

"Mokona feels tired too!" Mokona interrupted.

So as Kurogane reluctantly agreed, they all sat, not daring to light a fire, for fear it would give them away to the enemy. With the little food Mokona had stolen from the restaurant, they filled their hunger slightly. Sakura took this rare time to talk to Syaoran, who sat against a tree, and perhaps comfort him if he needed it.

"Syaoran-kun?" the boy's thoughts suddenly interrupted by the small voice, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, Sakura-hime. I'm just thinking…"

"Thinking of what?"

"Nothing…"

Sakura thought about this and would have responded, but her shyness kept her back.

"Are you injured, Sakura-hime?" Syaoran noticed her eyes were troubled.

"I'm fine, but… Umm, Syaoran-kun… can you call me Sakura-chan…?"

"Hai, Sakura-h…chan." For a moment, Syaoran remembered a moment in their childhood which was soon interrupted by another question.

"Syaoran-kun, why did you kill those men like that?"

Syaoran wondered here whether or not Sakura would believe him or think he was just making this up to justify himself. But, hell, being the person he is, he couldn't resist Sakura's request.

"Before Kurogane-san left this world, his hime put a curse on him, causing him to lose his power and strength for every person he kills. Those men back there would have died by Kurogane-san's hand, I couldn't let that happen; Kurogane-san told me that his goal in life was to be as strong as he could."

Before Sakura knew what she was doing, she leaned forward on her knees and gave a small kiss to Syaoran's cheek while barely whispering the words, "Thank you", which in turn resulted in both of them to have deep red blushes on their faces and caused both of them turning away from each other in embarrassment.

Everyone sat quietly in the darkness without noticing Syaoran and Sakura's odd behavior. Finally the silence was broken.

"Kuro-puppy, it's time to eat." Fai patted Kurogane on the head.

"Kuro-puppy!" Mokona repeated.

"God dammit, STOP CALLING ME WEIRD NAMES!" The words left him louder than he intended.

_"Shit..."_

From a distance a man stood on a high cliff with an enormous sword across his back. Turning his gaze from the people, he whispered into his headset...

"They're here."

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Iroel's Note: Yea so first chapter's over, hopefully we haven't bored you, have we? (If we did we would like to remind you that this is still the first chapter and we're slowly developing the characters, please be patient). Not sure when the next chapter will be finished, but we'll try to get it to you asap. We try to make our fanfics as long as possible to keep you guys entertained for a bit (trying to buy time to get next chapter out). How bad wuz this first chapter? Plz review, I could use whatever advice I can get. (If there are words that are merged together, gomennasai, we must've missed it).


	2. The Princess: Wounds that never heal

**Chapter 2: Wounds that never heal**

Iroel's Note: Yea, here's the second chapter. Thanks to all the people who reviewed our first one. (This chapter was actually finished about 4 days after the first one was published, but I got sidetracked and so, I'm very sorry for those who may have waited for this chapter. Thx!)

FireElement's Note: Hey everyone... thanks for the reviews... we have 3 authors working on this fanfic... so hopfully the updates will be quick... or maybe to be evil... to make you wait and let the suspense continue.:)

Disclaimer: We do not own Tsubasa or the characters (except for one we've made that you will see later on), but I do own the plot starting from this point.

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_Chapitre Deux: _Blessures qui ne guérissent jamais

"So, they've come…" A hooded man stood next to the ninja on a cliff

"Hai, we've recovered the bodies before the civilized population noticed."

"Fei-sama," the man spoke into the headset, "They will approach the castle soon."

"I am irritated at how I cannot properly predict these events, and seeing there progress thus far, we must move to the second option. Intercept them as they leave the castle." The headset emitted a clicking noise and spoke no more.

"Kuro-puppy, how much longer do we have to walk?" Fai's cheerful voice sounded again.

"God dammit, how many times do I have to repeat myself! STOP CALLING ME WEIRD NAMES!"

"Kuro-puppy!" Mokona bounced on Kurogane's head.

They would have gone on longer, only they passed the last ledge, and reached the castle's ruined gates. Kurogane began to take a step forward, but Syaoran began to advise against it.

"We should be careful, Kurogane-san, the ninja's may still be here."

"Kid, I've fought these ninjas for a long time now, don't tell me what to-" Kurogane stopped there. A shuriken flew towards Kurogane's head, only to be caught by Syaoran. Quickly, swords were drawn and they all ran into the castle.

As they approached the hallway Kurogane's mind began to remember something, but it couldn't still be working, especially after so many ninjas attacked the god forsaken place… But where is the blood?

"_Shit"_

"No one take a step further!" Kurogane yelled. Syaoran stopped right before the hallway.

"This hallway has the most traps planted than any other part of the castle, don't go forward." Kurogane continued.

"Kurogane-san, if there really were traps here, why would they still work? If ninjas attacked the-" Syaoran stopped right there. "_Ninjas…"_

"Exactly, ninjas in this world are trained to overcome traps like these. These traps are intended for soldiers in times of war."

"So the question remains," Fai started, "How do we get past this? We all know Kuro-puppy's a ninja, but the rest of us aren't."

"What kind of traps would be here?" Syaoran inquired.

"Mostly arrows and surprise pits that open up. This isn't the actual hallway we would use to get to the main courts, but the other ways are blocked up or destroyed, so this is our only way…"

"…To reach the feather?" Syaoran asked.

"You're trying to reach Tomoyo-chan, aren't you, Kurogane-san?" Sakura asked.

"Either way, there's still this trap."

"What if we still had Kudans, like in the Hanshin Republic?" Sakura turned to Syaoran.

"We don't have Kudans to protect us-" Syaoran stopped as he eyed a large amount of shields.

"Ninjas weren't the only people that attacked this place. These soldiers probably waited behind."

"Can't we just throw something down the hallway and have all the traps attack it?"

"That doesn't work. These traps are powered by magic and only activate when it detects an aura."

"So that means that one person will have to cover himself with the shields and go through the trap?"

"I'll do it." Syaoran answered reaching for the shields and placing them to cover as much as he could. It was quite funny how he was covered, but it would protect him.

"Be careful, Syaoran-kun." Sakura went towards Syaoran and held his hand. The blushes came again.

Syaoran, pulling as much of the armor together as he could, ran towards the hallway, and expected the arrows to come. Arrows would have struck Syaoran and penetrate the shields, meaning death for him, only where were the arrows?

Syaoran stood there and blinked in curiosity.

"Kuro-run, you're so funny, getting us all acted up like that."

"There were traps here!"

"Were," emphasized Fai. The simple fact occurred to Kurogane that the ninjas slipped past the traps and disabled the magic which activated them.

Kurogane mumbled and began to walk down the hallway as Sakura rushed over to Syaoran to help him out of the shields.

The group walked through the hallway as a group of ninjas followed behind them.

"TENMA KUURYUUSEN!" Kurogane shouted. Dragon-shaped attack rushed towards the ninjas, blowing them backwards and out of the castle. Unfortunately for the men, they would not be able to move for the rest of their lives, seeing how their spines are now shattered.

They continued on, not speaking or stalling until they reached the courtyard, the very place where Kurogane stood and spoke with Tomoyo-hime for the last time before he was sent away. Kurogane observed the ruined courtyard, seeing so much destruction and corpses, and then his eyes reached the center, surrounded by the darkened water.

"I've been waiting quite a while for you, Kurogane." Tomoyo spoke.

Kurogane ran towards Tomoyo clutching her shoulders and faced her.

"Tomoyo, are you ok?"

"I am fine Kurogane, for now, however I don't have much time left, so don't ask any questions, just listen." Tomoyo responded, "You four, come closer, I can't speak that loud. Besides I have something to say to you as well."

"As you know well, Kurogane, our enemy became very persistent, entire teams being sent. But when you left, ninjas became hard to deal with, and we began to lose many of our men. And then soldiers began to be sent, but our ninjas took them down with ease. Then recently, black soldiers were sent, bearing the sign of a dangerous man. These men are armed and trained very well, and are very difficult to defeat. We were worried that we would soon be overrun, and that fear was soon confirmed. About 2 weeks ago, massive numbers of soldiers and ninjas attacked the castle. Every ninja that has defended this castle with their life had fallen, even Sôma."

Tomoyo paused to brush off a tear rolling down her cheek.

"When the last ninja fell, I used the feather." Tomoyo continued, "Right after you left, I receiveda feather which fell from the heavens. I kept it safe and hidden, but when everyone was killed, I used it. It had to be protected; however it is doing more than just that…"

"…You're dying aren't you?" Fai stated.

"Hai, I was wounded fatally by an enemy's sword; this feather is simply stalling my death. I have waited so I could give it to you, as instructed by the Dimension Witch. Before I die, however, there are a few things that must be done."

Tomoyo clapped her hands together into a seal. Kurogane's forehead began to glow with the curse, and then the mark disappeared.

"Though you still have not learned true strength yet, I must remove this curse before it is too late. You have a purpose to fulfill and it cannot be done if you cannot kill."

Tomoyo turned to Syaoran and Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, take care because you are being watched, and soon those who are watching you will strike in the same manner they have done here, for they are after your power, which was reborn on that fateful day you lost your memories."

"What power?"

"You have the Tsubasa, the wings which guide the dimension you choose to travel to. The power was given to you at birth, and you are fated to struggle with it. But not alone."

Tomoyo held out her hand, revealing the feather and gave it to Sakura. Sakura didn't put it in herself yet; Tomoyo still had more to say.

"I wish you good luck, for there remains the last feather which you can obtain. But a word of warning, Sakura-chan's life is beginning to waver, for she does not have all her feathers back yet, and soon she will die if the feather is not found."

"Where is it?" Syaoran asked immediately.

"Is it not evident?"

A memory occurred to Syaoran,

"_I cannot return this feather to you, Syaoran." Seishiro said, "Are you going to fight me?"_

"Seishiro-san…" Syaoran said.

"Hai, find him and you will find the feather."

Tomoyo's face began to turn pale, bloodtrinkled from her mouth as she began to fall backwards. Syaoran hurried to her side and caught her and slowly lowered her down to the ground.

"Take care, Kurogane." Tomoyo faced Syaoran, "I pity you, Syaoran, for your fate is one that no one should bear."

With that, Tomoyo's eyes closed and her breathing halted.

Syaoran stood and faced Kurogane, whose face was downcast. Wet drops formed on the ground towards where Kurogane was facing.

"_Dammit, why, why wasn't I here, I could've stopped all this… Tomoyo shouldn't have died… _GOD DAMMIT" Kurogane ran from the courtyard and through the hallway.

"Sakura-chan…" Syaoran said, "You should put the feather in you now."

"But Syaoran-" Sakura was stopped; Syaoran took the feather and put it near her chest. Sakura lost conscious and fell back, Syaoran stopped her and carried her in his arms and walked down the hallway. Fai followed after, Mokona on his head.

Kurogane sat on the ledge outside the castle, deep in thought. Syaoran laid Sakura down against a tree and gathered some wood together to start a fire as Fai went over to Kurogane.

"Kurogane," Fai spoke his actual name for once, "Stop blaming yourself and come eat. I know Tomoyo's death is hard on you, but you have to move on."

Kurogane didn't respond, but he did get up and walked towards the fire. Kurogane kicked the tree, which resulted in a surprised enemy ninja to fall off. Kurogane walked up towards the ninja, and with one swift movement, the ninja's head and limbs were no longer attached. Kurogane continued to stab and slice the corpse, until he couldn't really cut it anymore, and simply kicked the corpse away into the bushes; Sakura shouldn't see this.

Syaoran remained quiet; he understood what Kurogane was going through.

Sakura woke up, confused that she had fallen asleep, but the memory of Syaoran returning the feather came back and she understood.

"So you're awake?" Syaoran came over to Sakura

"What happened, Syaoran-kun?"

"An enemy ninja…" Syaoran didn't have to explain.

"Were you hurt? Was anyone else hurt?" Sakura continued on asking more questions.

"We're all ok, hime, the ninja didn't even get a chance to attack…"

"How is Kurogane-san? Is he wounded?"

"Not physically… We tried to comfort Kurogane-san, but there's no point in trying."

"I'm going to Kurogane-san to comfort him."

"But it won't do any-" Syaoran was stopped because Sakura started dragging him along towards Kurogane.

Kurogane was deep in thought, thinking of all the ninjas who fought by his side, those who protected their hime. To imagine them all dead was too painful for even Kurogane. Thoughts like these continued until a small innocent voice broke his thoughts.

"Kurogane-san, are you ok?"

"I'm fine kid… Just leave me alone."

"Kurogane-san, please, what's on your mind? You can tell us."

Kurogane thought it for a while, but looked into Sakura's green and worried eyes, and gave up.

"I'm just thinking… of the people that was in that castle. It's just hard to think that they're dead… it just…"

"…Hurts?"

Kurogane was quiet for a while.

"Don't hide your pain from your friends, because at times like these, they may be the only people who can comfort you…" Fai quietly added.

"...I've taken a lot of wounds in the past… All of them have healed of course, but there are those that are too deep, that they cannot heal… It's happened before, but this time it's just worse…"

"Remember them as the people they were, and your wound will be lightened a little." Sakura said, "Don't stay sad forever, Kurogane-san, or we'll be sad too."

Kurogane lifted his head and looked into Sakura's eyes.

"_No wonder he loves her so much."_

_It was a cold night as Kurogane stood outside of the castle, crying, tears uncontrolled and sadness overwhelming his heart._

"_Why… WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE DAMMIT!"_

_Kurogane fell on the ground, tears still coming._

"_Don't cry Kurogane-kun." A small girl came up to him and crouched down._

"_Shut up…" Kurogane sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes._

"_I know it hurts a lot inside, but don't always be sad, please? We can't forget our bad memories, but we don't have to live on them forever, just remember him as he was and honor his memory. The pain will lessen a bit."_

Kurogane stood up and walked to the fire.

"Hey, you guys gonna eat or what?"

"So they got the feather?"

"Hai."

"No matter, we've changed our objectives, therefore it does not matter to us anymore."

"But when they find the last one..."

"We will make sure our soldiers are in place for that."

"The soldiers are on standby, our agents are in position, and the dimension generator is ready."

"Send the soldiers and position them at the designated location. As for our agents, tell _that _one to move in as soon has he can."

With that, many black soldiers disappeared into a gaping hole.

"I've been thinking about what Tomoyo said," Fai started, "we should have a plan on what to do if we get captured."

"What if we get killed if we get captured?" Kurogane asked.

"If anyone is after Sakura's power, it'd be their best interest to keep us alive as bait, or if they capture Sakura herself, I doubt they'd kill her."

"So what will we do?"

"If you talk, it'll attract the captors to you and make it difficult for you to escape, so just wink to signal 'get ready to run'."

"That's a stupid plan, but it works under those conditions."

"Waah, Kuro-puppy is so mean."

"Fai, you mustn't cry!" Mokona responded, "Kuro-puppy is just aggressive."

"Shaddup you two."

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Iroel's Note: Well, second chapter is done. Please know that I am not a mean person by having Tomoyo die, it is for the plot's sake (after all Kurogane wouldn't be a part of the story any more if Tomoyo was alive) besides it won't be the last time Tomoyo will show up. Anyway, we'll be working on third chapter, and as usual we'll try to get them to you ASAP. If this is boring, gomennasai! We'll try to make this more exciting. Please review! 


	3. Rising Action: The calm before the storm

**Chapter 3: The calm before the storm**

Iroel's Note: Hey everyone. Thx for the reviews. Sorry for making you guys wait longer for this one (got delayed again).

Disclaimer: We do not own Tsubasa Chronicle or the characters (except for one later on). However we do own the plot starting from the first chapter

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Chapitre Trois: Le calme avant l'orage

"Fei-sama," the man reported to his headset, "we await your orders."

"My men have arrived on the world. I will signal when to strike, however in the meantime, I would like to speak with my agent." The man handed the headset to the man next to him.

"Hai, Fei-sama?"

"Move in with your men when the time is right. Understood?"

"Hai."

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"Wah, Mokona is tired from all this walking!" Mokona complained.

"You're not even walking!" Kurogane answered back in annoyance.

"Where are we going, Kuro-sama? It's getting dark now, and we still haven't found a place to stay yet."

"We have to find food first and then information about where the princess' feather is."

"Are you sure it's ok to leave Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun behind?"

"They'll be fine."

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"Syaoran-kun, it's getting dark. Kurogane-san and Fai-san are late." The princess whispered to Syaoran cautiously.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong? You seem awfully worried today."

"I'm just worried that something might attack us." Sakura began to blush.

"Sakura-chan… you're blushing." Apparently Sakura was embarrassed that it was just the two of them. It was quiet for a while. With each passing minute, Syaoran became tenser. It was too quiet.

"Syao-" Sakura tried to start. Instantly, nets were flung over their heads and trapped them to the ground, restraining all movement.

"_Dammit." _Syaoran struggled to unsheathe his sword. Small round pellets flew in towards them. Upon impact, gases were released and spread rapidly. Slowly, Syaoran began to lose conscious.

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"Ugh," Sakura stirred in her unconsciousness. Suddenly she sat up, only to find that her hands and feet were bound. Next to her, she saw Syaoran on the ground in the same state as her, stirring to consciousness.

"Syaoran-kun, where are we?" Sakura rudely woke Syaoran

"Hime!" Syaoran sat up suddenly, surprising Sakura. "Thank goodness…"

Syaoran realized they were still outdoors, but bound by ropes. Not too far away, he saw three tough-looking men huddled around the campfire. Syaoran was surprised they weren't ninjas, but rather bandits, which only meant that they were likely to harm Sakura.

The men stood up and walked towards Syaoran and Sakura. With mean looks and grins, they stood in front, prepared to mock them both.

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura pulled herself closer to Syaoran, "I'm scared…"

"It's ok, Sakura-chan."

"Indeed, it is ok, for us, that is." One of the bandits spoke in a mean tone.

"_They can understand us? Kurogane and Fai must be nearby then…"_

Syaoran remembered what Fai had told them all what to do in case they were captured. The men sneered and walked back to the fire, picking up theweapons they had left behind.

"_I have to let Sakura know." _Syaoran thought.

Turning to Sakura's gaze, Syaoran made sure he made eye contact first, and then tried to wink. Sadly for Syaoran's right eye being unable to see, Syaoran was unable to keep one eye open and one eye closed, thus both eyes were oddly closed each time he tried.

"_Is something wrong with Syaoran-kun's eyes?" _Sakura wondered. Staring confusingly at Syaoran, an idea occurred to Sakura. Taking one finger, she pulled down one of Syaoran's eyelids over his eye. Syaoran responded with a nod.

The bandits returned with their weapons from the campfire. All crowded around and stared meanly at Sakura.

"_Crap, there's more?" _Syaoran became shocked at how many more bandits there were.

"Let's rape the girl." One spoke up.

"_Rape?" _Sakura wondered.

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Iroel's intrusion: You won't see many of these, but I can't find a way to put this into text, so I'll just say it here. For this fanfic, Syaoran and Sakura did not receive sexual education yet, so yea…

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The word didn't register to Syaoran, but judging from the bandits' eyes, he could tell it wasn't good. He had to get Sakura away.

A bandit took a step forward. Judging from the way the men listened to him, he was evidently the leader. His hands stretched out and began to; as it seemed to Syaoran, try to take off Sakura's clothes. Syaoran responded unexpectedly by leaping up and charging his head into the leader's stomach. Instantly the leader went down, clutching his stomach.It looked foolish, but then Syaoran rolled his way down to the fire and picked up his sword, cutting his bonds. With his sword, he began to charge towards the men.

The first one came swinging a club. Syaoran simply dodged and sliced the man. The second one was wise enough to come behind to stab, but Syaoran flipped backwards over the man and struck him on the back of the neck, causing the man to fall unconscious. Syaoran passed the men quickly and cut Sakura's bonds, and instantly they fled into the darkness.

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"Hyuh!" Fai started. Syaoran stared in disbelief.

"Fai-san! You were here this entire time?"

"With Kuro-sama!" Mokona bounced on Fai's head.

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"_Shouldn't we help them?" Kurogane asked._

"_Nah, we'll let Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan to deal with this on their own!"_

"_Good training, I guess…" Kurogane leaned back on the tree._

Sakura and Syaoran stared back at Fai and Kurogane in disbelief.

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The scene was very gruesome. Blood was splattered all over the ground, staining the dark brown soil with crimson. Black soldiers stood before them with bloodstained claws. One activated his headset and began to relay events.

"Fei-sama, they got away before we could intercept and attack."

"Disappointing…" the man spoke back. The headset simply clicked and shut off.

------------------

Syaoran and Sakura were alone, again. Sakura couldn't help but blush from this mere situation. Syaoran seemed relaxed, but considering how far they've come, he has a good reason to enjoy this time to rest. Impulsively, Sakura slowly brought herself over to Syaoran and sat next to him.

Syaoran felt a small, soft pressure on his cheek, the familiar sense of one of Sakura's kisses.

"Thank you…" Sakura slowly retreated back, blushing.

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Iroel's note: Hey everyone. Sorry I'm soooooo late with this chapter. I got pretty lazy, but it won't happen again (I hope).


	4. The Storm draws closer: Fate closes in

**Chapter 4: Fate closes in**

Iroel's Note: Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews.

-------------------------------

_Chapitre quatre_: Le sort se rapproche

"Hurry up!" Kurogane barked at Fai and Mokona.

"Why, Kuro-puppy? We'll leave Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun behind."

"We have to hurry back to town before hostiles attack us. We have a better chance to survive when closer to town."

"Wow, Kuro-puppy, you're so insecure of your own strength."

"You saw what happened to that castle. There were too many of them. I'm thinking that scenario is what we'll be faced with if we're not careful."

"Hey! Hurry up!" Kurogane yelled at Sakura and Syaoran, who were trailing behind.

-------------------------------

"They're retreating towards the town." The woman said.

"No matter, we will still send them in." Fei replied.

"Fei-sama? We are waiting." A voice spoke through the intercom.

"Proceed tomorrow. If our calculations are correct, that is when it will greatly affect her."

"Hai, Fei-sama." With a click, the conversation ended.

-------------------------------

"You guys sure are a strange bunch…" The innkeeper said.

"Sorry, we're travelers."

"Very well… You can take room 66 and 67. The problem is that's only a total of three beds…"

The group was oddly silent at this.

-------------------------------

"I AM NOT SHARING A BED WITH YOU!" Kurogane yelled. Numerous people who were sleeping woke with a jolt.

"Kuro-puu, you're too loud."

"Umm… I wouldn't mind if I had to share…" Sakura fell silent and began to blush intensely.

"Then I'll take room 67, you three figure out who's going where." Kurogane walked into the room and slammed the door behind him.

"Well, I suppose I'll go into room 67 too." Fai followed after.

Sakura and Syaoran stood there in an odd silence. Only Syaoran had enough courage to open the door and walk in. Shyly, Sakura followed after him.

"Umm… Sakura-chan, I'll sleep on the floor, ok?"

"You don't have to Syaoran-kun…"

"I wouldn't want to bother the hime."

"No, its ok, I'll just…" Sakura blushed again, "…sleep on the ground."

"Sakura-chan…"

"You can sleep in the bed tonight Syaoran-kun, please."

Syaoran went towards the wall and sat down against it, closing his eyes and resting on the wall behind him. Sakura reluctantly climbed into her bed.

-------------------------------

A hooded stranger walked over to the desk.

"May I help you, sir?" The innkeeper asked.

"Hai, I would like to know which room four stranger are occupying tonight."

"I'm very sorry sir, I cannot tell you that."

"Well, that's very unfortunate for-" the hooded stranger twitched his hand slightly next to his side. Curtains on the far end of the inn went ablaze immediately. The panicked innkeeper dashed over to stop it. The stranger, in the meantime, peered over at the guest list and found what he was looking for.

Silently, he walked out of the inn and hid himself in a deserted alley.

"Observe room 66 and 67 and notify me immediately when the time is appropriate." He spoke into his headset.

From a distance away, five black-clad soldiers leaped onto trees nearby the windows of room 66 and 67. After a moment of rustling, there was silence as the men watched.

-------------------------------

Syaoran felt an odd warmth cover him in the cold. Too tired to react, he simply opened his eyes slightly to have a clear idea of what was going on. Sakura had put her blanket over him and huddled right next to his body.

Too tired to blush or act, Syaoran closed his eyes and went to sleep.

-------------------------------

A cough woke him up. Syaoran opened his eyes.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?"

"I don't know…" Sakura said weakly, "My body just hurts and my head's aching…" Sakura coughed again.

Syaoran looked to see that her face was oddly pale and her body was shivering, even though it was under the blanket and right next to his.

Alarmed, Syaoran lifted her onto the bed and covered her with the blanket.

"Fai-san, Kurogane-san," He banged his fist on the door for room 67.

The door opened to reveal a tired Fai and annoyed Kurogane.

"What is it, kid?" Kurogane roughly asked.

"There's something wrong with Sakura-chan."

-------------------------------

"Hmm… this doesn't look good." Fai started.

"What's wrong with her?"

"I can't say for certain, but didn't Tomoyo-hime say something about this?"

"Then we have to do something."

"We'll have to find the last feather. But that could be-"

Mokona suddenly jolted and widened his eyes.

"A feather's near-" Mokona was interrupted by Syaoran's rush out the door. Clumsily, he tripped and rolled down the stairs.

"Oww…" Syaoran rubbed his head.

"That was quite a fall, Syaoran." A voice in front of him sounded very familiar. Syaoran looked up, only to be shocked.

"Seishiro-san!"

-------------------------------

I would be so evil to end it right here wouldn't I?

-------------------------------

"Well, Syaoran, you seem awfully worried right now."

"Seishiro-san, please give me the feather!"

"Is this what it's all about?"

"Please!"

"You seem awfully desperate…"

Kurogane and Fai ran down and stopped near Syaoran.

"You…" Kurogane reached for his hilt.

"Let's not start a fight here, shall we?" Seishiro was face to face with Kurogane and had a knife against Kurogane's throat.

"_Shit, he's fast…"_

"Bring the girl down and follow me."

-------------------------------

The group slowly followed behind Seishiro. Syaoran carried an unconscious Sakura on his back. Fai and Kurogane tensely followed behind, Kurogane wielding his sword.

"We must hurry; you never know when the enemy will strike."

"Who is your enemy?"

"Is it not the same as yours?"

At a clearing surrounded by trees, Syaoran laid Sakura on the ground and sat down to rest.

"Seishiro-san, please give me the feather."

"I suppose you really want this, don't you?" Seishiro held up the feather in his hand.

"Please…"

"Very well, but you will have to do something for me in return."

"How do we know that this isn't a trap?"

"If it were a trap, you would all be dead by now, wouldn't you?" Kurogane was silent at this.

"I will give you this feather, however, you must help me find and kill the vampires that I've been searching for."

"That's it?"

"You seem to think of this as a simple task, do you not?"

"We'll help you…"

Seishiro handed Syaoran the feather. Syaoran brought the feather close to Sakura's chest and allowed it to be absorbed in. Sakura's paleness slowly disappeared, and she began to stop shivering.

"Now then-" Seishiro was interrupted by the appearance of five men, led by a grey hooded man.

"Hand over the girl, now." The hooded man ordered.

Swords were drawn by Syaoran and Kurogane, but they were too slow. The men ran forward swiftly and quickly, catching Syaoran and Kurogane off surprise, but Seishiro intercepted and killed two men in a flash. The other four backed away and charged forward again. With swift hand movements, Seishiro blocked blows from the men and counterattacked with blows of his own. The men were down and stabbed by Kurogane. The hooded man had blood flowing down from his back and arm. Quickly, he retreated.

-------------------------------

Sakura woke with a start. A fire was lit not too far away from where she was lying down.

"Are you ok?" Syaoran touched her shoulder.

"Syaoran-kun, what happened?"

"We got the last feather to you, but some men attacked. Seishiro-san defeated them pretty quickly."

"Seishiro-san?"

"Hai."

"…Syaoran, did you say that I got my last feather?"

"Hai."

"But then…" Sakura's face was downcast.

"Hime, what's wrong?"

"It's just… I… was hoping…" Sakura stopped there.

"Hoping for?"

Sakura was silent for a moment. Tears began streaming down her cheek.

"Hey, hey, it's ok…" Syaoran hugged her and brought her closer to him.

"I wanted to… I wanted to remember you Syaoran-kun… I wanted to remember who you were in my life…" Sakura continued to cry. "Why can't I remember you?"

"Sakura-chan, don't be sad about this, its ok."

"Syaoran-kun, who were you before I lost my memories? Did I even meet you?" Syaoran was silent. "Please tell me…" Syaoran didn't answer. "Syaoran…" she sobbed, "Please… please tell me…" Sakura whispered a soft and tearful "please" before she fell silent for a while, until silent tears forced her to sleep.

Syaoran sat there against a tree, waiting for Kurogane and Fai to return from getting water and wood.

"Sad, isn't it?" Seishiro said across the fire to Syaoran. "Was that your price?"

"Hai…" Syaoran whispered softly.

"Tell me, Syaoran, did you know this girl when you met me?"

"Hai."

"I see… So you wished to learn how to fight for this reason also?"

"Hai."

Seishiro became silent and simply gazed up at the stars.

"The stars are unusual tonight…"

"How so, Seishiro-san?"

"The stars are aligned in the oddest way… like a tidal wave of stars about to wash away the moon." Syaoran was quiet. "They say that when the stars are in such a destructive alignment, tragedy strikes at its hardest; well at least that's what I've heard."

Syaoran sat there in mere silence, thinking over Seishiro's words. Syaoran turned his gaze to Sakura, who was still sleeping in his arms. A tear attempted to push its way through, but never found its way out, as Syaoran sat in sadness. There, Syaoran desperately prayed in his heart that Sakura will in no way be harmed by whatever tragedymay hit in the future.

Sadly, fate would not allow such a prayer to be answered…

-------------------------------

Iroel's Note: So… I got lazy… again. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter finished as soon as I can, sorry for keeping those who are waiting such a long time.


	5. Climax: Fate's blow

**Chapter 5: Fate's blow**

Iroel's note: Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait, but I got grounded for about 3 weeks for getting my wallet stolen and losing a lot of money. Anyway, enjoy!

-----------------

_Chapitre cinq:_ Coup du sort

"This didn't go as we planned…" the woman said, "We've lost five of our soldiers and almost lost one of our lieutenants…"

"It does not matter. If you consider the power that is to be gained after all of this, you'd agree that the price is well paid." Fei replied.

"Such carelessness for your soldiers will cost you."

"Then I have no need for such soldiers."

"What if they revolt?"

"Let them try, you forget who you are talking to."

-----------------

"Wake up, Syaoran." Seishiro was standing next to Syaoran who was still sleeping.

"Why, Seishiro-san?"

"It's time for you to fulfil your end of the bargain."

"Seishiro-san, I've been wondering, how do you plan on finding the vampires you're looking for? If they're on a different world, it'll be hard for us to stay together."

"There's no need for that." Kurogane spoke up, "Seishiro-san claims that the vampires may have come to this world."

"Kuro-tan looks happy 'cause he's going to fight." Fai annoyingly teased Kurogane.

"Shut up you…"

"I'm going to be going for a few hours to gather information, stay behind and wait for my return." Seishiro started off towards the town.

"But what if we're attacked?" Syaoran asked.

"Oh? Do you have no confidence in your own abilities, Syaoran? If you don't, I doubt you'd be able to protect who you hold dear." Syaoran stood in silence as Seishiro vanished in an instant.

With a sigh, Syaoran sat back down next to Sakura, who was still sleeping.

-----------------

"I don't trust that guy." Kurogane broke the silence, "He's never bothered to ask us for our help until now. I wonder why."

"He was probably on a different world, Kuro-run."

"Also," Kurogane ignored Fai's response, "How did he become so powerful? We were evenly matched at Edonis, but now he's surpassed all of us."

"I doubt Seishiro-san would remain the same if he's chasing after vampires. He'd have to get stronger to assure his chances of success."

"There's a certain limit on how strong a person can get, kid."

"We've only been to so many worlds, Kurogane-san. Who knows what world may be out there that may have caused him to get this strong."

"Either way, what're you going to do, kid?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your quest is over 'cause you've found all of the hime's feathers. What are you going to do next?"

"I suppose I'd have to bring her back to Clow and her people."

"And will you stay there in Clow?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I'm just saying she won't remember you. What are you going to do about that?"

"Nothing, I've fulfilled what I said I was going to do. The hime's safety is the only thing necessary for me."

"Poor Syaoran-kun," Fai interrupted, "his best friend (with privileges) does even remember him."

Syaoran was quiet at this.

-----------------

Sakura woke up to find Syaoran, Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona just sitting there. Everything seemed peaceful, but Sakura could tell things were tense.

"Is something wrong?" she approached the group.

"Why would you say that, hime?" Syaoran asked.

"Syaoran-kun, I told you to call me Sakura-chan…" Sakura seemed disappointed.

-----------------

"Sir, he's left the area."

"Move in and attack with the men that will be arriving soon. From then on, we will continue to supply more soldiers if needed. Also, wait for him to come with the weapon. You know the plan, carry it out."

"Hai, Fei-sama." With a click, the transmission went dead.

-----------------

It was too quiet for Syaoran's liking. Since Seishiro had gone off to find the rumour of the vampires, things seemed too quiet and too suspicious; not a single animal made a sound.

"Kurogane-san, do you feel that?" an odd presence flickered for a moment and then disappeared.

"Yeah, but what is it?"

"I'm not sure."

"Retreat towards that cliff wall right there," Kurogane pointed to the left, "those trees should provide some cover and, if we're attacked, it should slow down the troops, allowing us to fight fewer at the same time."

Leading Sakura and Mokona, Syaoran walked towards the cliff, Fei and Kurogane cautiously closing in behind. A bright light caught Syaoran's eye, only to realize it was a knife flying towards him. With swift gracefulness, Syaoran leaned backwards and dodged a fatal blow aimed towards his head. At the same time, ten soldiers leaped out of the trees and drew their weapons.

-----------------

Five miles away, thousands of soldiers leaped from multiple portals and dashed off towards the forest.

-----------------

Two men lunged at Fai, claws drawn. With a simple swing of his stick, Fai blocked the claws and threw the men towards a soldier sneaking up on Kurogane. Several soldiers lunged towards Sakura, only to be cut down and pushed back by Syaoran. Without warning, several hundred knives and arrows flew towards Sakura. With no way to protect her, Syaoran simply turned his back towards the flying weapons, and curled Sakura next to him, protecting her from the weapons as he jumped away, trying to avoid the weapons. Though he dodged most of the weapons, a good number of them hit Syaoran on the back.

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura cried, shocked from Syaoran's action and pain.

The pain kept Syaoran from landing correctly, causing him to fall flat on his face, but he still protected Sakura. A speck of silver caught Kurogane's eye, but before he could react, the threads on the ends of the weapon yanked back. Blood spilled from Syaoran's back, but enough remained to pull him backwards towards the enemy, only to be stopped by Kurogane.

"Retreat towards that dense hole in the cliff," Kurogane pointed as Fai repelled ten soldiers.

As Syaoran reached his retreat point, he collapsed in pain and felt weak from the loss of blood.

"Syaoran-kun…" Sakura could only watch as her friend suffered.

-----------------

"DAMNIT!" Kurogane yelled as more soldiers kept pouring towards them, "There's no end to them!"

"Gee, I wonder how long we've been fighting." Fai simply replied with a tired look in his eyes.

-----------------

"That's quite impressive…" the woman spoke to her master.

"It's already been three hours since they've been fighting. I doubt they can go on much longer." Fei replied.

"Our losses are growing very rapidly and our resources in that world are draining. I don't think we can keep this up either."

"Do not worry; we still have him to deal with them."

-----------------

The soldiers stopped storming into the enclosed area for a moment, allowing Fai and Kurogane to retreat to Sakura and Syaoran.

"Is he ok?" Fai looked worried.

"He hasn't lost too much blood, but he can't fight. Those knives cut some of his muscles." Syaoran groaned in pain.

"Kurogane-san, how much longer will this go on?" Sakura seemed horrified from the sight of so much blood.

"We're not sure, but it doesn't seem like they're going to give in anytime soon."

"But they stopped attacking."

"They're still out there. It seems they're waiting for something or someone."

"What are they-?" Sakura was interrupted by a whizzing knife that narrowly missed her.

"Shit, they're coming again." Kurogane and Fai jumped towards the oncoming attackers.

Sakura stood up in case she may have to escape with Kurogane and Fai. For a moment, the soldiers stopped attacking, and assembled in a formation, pausing to attack. A hooded man stepped in front of them, wielding a huge black sword with engraved lines majestically decorating the sword's broad side.

"Give up the girl, or be prepared to die." The man threatened.

"Kiss my ass, you son of a-" Kurogane hadn't time to stop as the solders lunged forward to attack.

In the midst of the battle, the hooded man took the sword and hurledit towards Sakura, who was unaware of the threat. However, the reflection caught her eye and she turned her head.

For a moment, Sakura's eyes widened in horror as the blood stained parts of her delicate face. The rest simply splattered on the cliff wall behind her. Pure horror paralysed her as she simply stared, for the blood was not her own.

Syaoran had lunged in front of Sakura with his back facing her, and took the blow of the blade. The force of the blade went through the right side of his abdomen and pierced him to the wall. Slowly, Sakura brought herself to walk to her wounded Syaoran.

"No!" Sakura simply screamed as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

-----------------

The fight was over as many soldiers lay dead on the ground, but the hooded man escaped. Fai and Kurogane walked slowly to Sakura and a dying Syaoran.

-----------------

Fate's blow had struck hard and unexpected. The prayer, Syaoran realized, has been ignored and forgotten. Sakura cried uncontrollably on Syaoran's shoulder, begging that it was all a bad dream, that none of it was real.

"Please… Sakura-chan, don't cry…" words became increasingly difficult.

"Syaoran-kun, can't I remember you? Were you anyone at all in my life?" Syaoran was silent. The truth would kill her. "Please, I just want to remember you. I want to know who you were, so I can mourn you properly… please… who were you?" Sakura begged.

A light erupted from Mokona's head, revealing the Dimension Witch's face.

"Yuko-san…" Syaoran started, but the words struggled to come out.

"There is a choice for you, unfortunate one. Would you have this girl regain her memory? Or would you have her never remember you?"

Sakura kept begging and crying on Syaoran's shoulder.

"Your choice, Syaoran."

Syaoran struggled to keep his conscious as he came nearer and nearer to death. The tears of Sakura were the only things he could see now. Sadness overtook Syaoran, as he became torn between protecting Sakura from pain and satisfying her need for the truth.

"Yuko-san… Give her back the memory…" Syaoran bitterly commanded.

A single feather dropped towards Syaoran.

"Sakura… please… just stay alive and stay happy… Goodbye…" With that, he gave her the feather.

As Sakura began to lose conscious, Syaoran gathered what strength he could and brought her lips to his, bringing her closer. Sakura fainted after half a minuteand slumped to the ground as the torrent of memories flooded her mind.

"Kurogane-san, Fai-san, please… make sure… she gets home safely…"

With a flash, they were gone with Syaoran alone against the cliff. Syaoran began to regret this slow death. With the darkness and cold closing in, Syaoran began to tremble. Blood flowed slowly from his mouth, his strength abandoning him. Rain began to fall, washing his blood and body, as if it were tears of God himself.

And with that, Syaoran closed his eyes, thus leaving the living world. His last thoughts were for Sakura, that she would be happy and safe without him.

-----------------

With that, Sakura awoke on a different world. Kurogane and Fai were a distance away, keeping watch and talking. It was then that Sakura truly realized that ignorance was bliss. Everything came back to her, as she clutched her chest and cried out her soul.


	6. Revelation I: Move On

**Chapter 6: Move On**

Iroel's Note: Hey everyone. Thanks for the reviews. Apologies to Tangerine Otaku for mistaking you as one of my school friends… Sorry…

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_Chapitre six:_ Se déplacer sur

_"He's gone… He really is gone…"_ Sakura continued to cry as Kurogane and Fai walked over.

"Here…" Kurogane put Syaoran's green cloak next to her. "It flew off as he jumped. I just thought you might want it." With that Kurogane returned to the campfire.

"Sakura-chan…" Fai tried to comfort her, but Sakura pulled away. With a sigh, Fai joined Kurogane.

------------------------------

"_Syaoran-kun, when's your birthday?"_

"_I don't know… I have no memory before the day Fujitaka-san took me in…"_

"_Then your birthday will be on April 1st, just like mine! We'll make lots of great memories, so even if you don't remember them, I will for you!"_

"_Umm, Syaoran-kun, can I call you 'Syaoran' from now on?"_

_A young and confused Syaoran just looked at her._

"_My big brother told me that when a person likes another person a lot, they call them by their name. So you can call me 'Sakura'!"_

------------------------------

"_Umm… That thing I wanted to tell you… I'll tell you later, okay?"_

"_Okay…"_

"_I WILL tell you, so just wait."_

------------------------------

"I didn't even tell him that I loved him…" With a choked cry, she wrapped the cloak around herself.

------------------------------

A man stood alone in a different and distant world.

"Baka…"

------------------------------

"This is unexpected…" Fei sat, disturbed by the past events.

"Sir, the clone…" Behind her, the Syaoran in the tank began to disappear.

"Let it, there is no more purpose for it now that he is dead…"

"Sir, now that he's gone, we can no longer view them anymore."

"I'm well aware of that. Position spies around the landscape of Clow. Have them alert us when they arrive."

"And then?"

"We will attack. This death has made gaining the Tsubasa harder. If we cannot take it from the inside, we will take it by force."

------------------------------

"I can't believe this shit…" Kurogane violently threw a stone at the tree, creating a huge dent in its bark.

"Didn't Tomoyo-hime say something about this? 'I pity you, for your fate is one that no one should bear.'"

"I guess Syaoran doesn't have to worry about that anymore…" Mokona sat silently by a tree with a sad look.

"Cheer up Mokona, things will get better."

"Oh shit…" Kurogane dashed off towards Sakura.

------------------------------

As Fai untied the cloak from Sakura's neck, Kurogane yelled in rage against her.

"DON'T YOU DARE DO THAT AGAIN!"

"Please, Kurogane-san, just let me do what I want to do… Just let me die… Please…"

"Is this how you're going to pay him back? He fucking sacrificed his life for you!"

"I don't want to live with this anymore… He suffered so much… All because of me... So just leave me alone." Kurogane stopped her with a slap.

"You're not going to kill yourself. I won't allow it. We promised Syaoran that we would bring you back to your country."

"But how will I get back home? We'd go through so many worlds before we reach there. You can just say that I was killed by accident, and bring back my body to my brother."

"Why do you want to die?"

"To see him again… and to ask him to forgive me…"

"Live on, that'll be your redemption. Live on so that his sacrifice won't be in vain." With that Kurogane turned his back on Sakura and walked off.

------------------------------

"Isn't it strange, Kurogane? There hasn't been a single soldier attacking us…" Kurogane knew something had to be wrong, especially if Fai didn't call him by those idiotic names.

"For a long time, I've felt that someone's been watching us. That someone might be the same person who sent those soldiers to attack us."

"If he'd been watching us, he would know we were open for an attack right now…"

"How do you suppose he could be watching us?"

"Syaoran had some weird dreams at night…" Mokona started, "He said things like 'Who are you? Syaoran? No, that's me…'"

"Why would Syaoran be seeing himself in his own dreams?" Fai inquired

"He could be seeing a Syaoran from a different world…" The realization hit Fai instantly. "Syaoran was how he was able to watch us…"

"We HAVE to get back to her country now. That's where she'll be safe." Caution overtook Kurogane

"But there has to be defenses. Sakura-chan, were there any walls or barricades in your country?"

"No…"

"We better get there as soon as we can and prepare defenses. Being out here will make things worse."

"Mokona can't control which world to go to next... What was that power Tomoyo-hime was talking about?" Fai wondered.

"I'm not sure, but didn't the kid say something about seeing wings on the girl before she lost her memory?"

"I wonder…" Fai pulled a small square device out of his pocket.

"Where the hell did you get that?"

"I took it from a dead soldier before we left." Inside the device was a slip of paper.

"Lets see here…" Kurogane read the kanji on the paper. "It says, 'Do not kill the girl until he comes with the Soul Breaker. Once he does, distract the others away from the girl to allow him to kill the girl with the sword and take the Tsubasa.'"

"That must be it. The Tsubasa is the power that they're after."

"Tsubasa means wings… But what significance is that?"

"I'm thinking it has to relate to the ability to travel between dimensions." Fai looked at Sakura, who was sitting next to Mokona against the tree.

"Sakura, are you ok?" Mokona was worried.

"It's ok Mokona. I'll be ok…" Sakura held Mokona in her hands.

"But your eyes say that you're so lonely and hurt…" Mokona continued.

"Thank you, Mokona… but please leave me alone…"

------------------------------

"Sakura-chan, do you know how to access your power?"

"My power?"

"If we can use it, we can get to Clow without visiting other worlds first. Besides, I doubt Mokona can consistently move us from world to world."

"I think I can… but I don't want to…"

"Sakura-chan, this isn't the time to be doing this. We HAVE to get back to your world before the enemy attacks it."

"Why would they attack it?"

"We think that's the next target. They'll strike down Clow in hopes of finding you. While we would try to keep you away from the enemy as much as possible, we cannot let your country fall. The soldiers will take them by surprise if we are to do nothing."

"Sakura-chan, please think of your people and your brother. Don't let them die just because we don't warn them."

"But I don't know how to use this power…"

"Mokona, get us the Dimension Witch please."

Mokona's head glowed, revealing the witch.

"Yuko-san, we have a little favor to ask you. Can you tell us how to use Sakura-chan's Tsubasa?"

"And don't FUCKING tell us that there's a price."

"Oh? There is no price, for it is simple knowledge and will not cost you. All Sakura-san has to do is concentrate her will on the destination she wishes to go to, and then have Mokona transport you to a different world."

"That's it?"

"Indeed."

"Why did you restore Sakura-chan's memory without a price?"

"The price was that of Syaoran's."

"What was that price?"

"You will see in the future. Shouldn't you be moving on now? Do you wish for Clow to be destroyed?"

------------------------------

As they vanished to the next world, an informant who came just too late informed his master.

"Sir, they've moved on towards Clow."

------------------------------

_6 Months ago_

_"You're sure about this?"_

"_Indeed, in about six months they will attack. I advise you to build your defenses now."_

"_There was a second part to this request you know."_

"_Ah yes, your sister and Syaoran are fine… for now. I would advise you not to taunt her when she comes back."_

_With a sigh, Toya turned away from the light and the witch._

"_What the hell do you mean by 'for now'?"_

"_What your sister carries with her when she arrives shall tell you enough to know."_

"_Aren't you glad that you gave up your sword for this information?"_

"_No, not really."_

"_Well, I advise you to get ready."_

"_Isn't there anyway to avoid this battle?"_

"_No, it is impossible if fate takes the turn that is already predetermined."_

"_Hitsuzen?"_

"_Hitsuzen…"_

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Iroel's Note: Yay! I succeeded in getting this out very fast. Well, thx for reading. Ch. 7 should be up soon to. If not soon, please be patient.


	7. Rising Action: A cold return

**Chapter 7: A cold return**

Iroel's Note: Hey everyone, I hope I didn't make things too confusing in the last chapter. I intend to answer a lot of questions as this fanfic move on… so be patient if you want the questions to be answered.

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_Chapitre sept:_ Un retour froid

"You're a wise king to follow my advice." Yuko complimented.

"Well, seeing how my dad usually did, I thought I might as well do the same." Toya grumbled.

"Do you have men positioned to protect the walls?"

"Do you take me for an idiot?"

"Very well, however, take caution for the forces which will assail you. Fei is very dangerous and resourceful man."

"Oh? Can you prove that statement?"

"He is responsible for your father's death. How much more do you need to know?"

"When you say he's resourceful, give me an example about what to look out for."

"He has many allies which will aid him against you. Coming with your sister is two men who many are after."

"Then I'll kick them out of this country."

"You would do that to the two people who protected her?"

"If it means that they won't attack us."

"Regardless, Fei will still convince others to attack you. Fai and Kurogane are very good fighters. At this point, you will need all the fighters you can get."

"Yuko-san, just tell me how many friggin soldiers are going to attack us."

"I cannot tell you that, because even that is veiled from my sight."

"The other information you revealed to me… It's quite disturbing, especially the one about him. Can you tell me any more?"

"I'm not sure why you need more information, you know what to do."

"But you revealed so little, how should I be prepared for him."

"You can't, his purpose is one that reaches deeper than anything which anyone can dissuade."

"Is this the same with Fei?"

"Indeed, these two are both men who you should not have against you. It's already too late with Fei, however avoid tampering with the purpose of the other, or he may prove to be even deadlier to you, for he, unlike Fei, can travel the worlds. I must get going now. Be careful, he is called the Angel of Fear for a reason."

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"King Toya," Yukito and some guards entered the room, "what did the witch tell you?"

"Not good news, as usual, but we can be assured of what will come."

"How soon?"

"Be ready for anything when Sakura comes. The attack will come soon after."

"How is Syaoran-kun doing?"

"Not sure, she didn't tell me."

"It appears they have arrived…" Yukito sounded worried and sad.

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"What an interesting world…" Fai remarked.

"There's sand everywhere… that's kinda depressing…"

"You there," a guard came to them, "go the castle immediately. King Toya and High Priest Yukito await you there."

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"Sakura…" Toya embraced his sister, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine…" Sakura barely mumbled.

"I'd like to thank you for looking out for her." Yukito thanked Kurogane and Fai.

"Mokona helped too!" Mokona playfully remarked.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" Toya was concerned. The only answer he got back was the tears rolling down her cheek.

"I didn't even remember him…" Toya understood.

"_Syaoran gave up his relationship to restore Sakura's memory. Just a little heads up."_

Toya noticed the green cloak around her, and the small stains of blood which splashed onto it. Toya simple brought her closer, comforting her in any way he could. Sakura just pushed him away and ran off towards her room.

"So then…" Toya sadly started, "What happened?"

----------------------------------------

"They arrived at the country of Clow."

"Deploy the forces towards that world for the next 12 hours. Use whatever methods to conceal the army. If we strike suddenly, they'll have no time to protect against our massive forces."

Miles away, hundreds of thousands of soldiers vanished slowly towards Clow.

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"_Why does it hurt so much…?"_ Sakura continued crying and held tightly to her chest. Tears wouldn't stop, but she wasn't trying to stop them. Alone in that room, she allowed the sadness to surround and take her. Memories continued to flood through her head, memories she had forgotten and will never share with Syaoran again.

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"What surprises me is how you've prepared for battle already." Kurogane remarked.

"That witch told me something about an attack."

"Either way, I don't think you have enough men to withstand the amount that devastated my castle."

"I've already taken that element into account."

"Oh?"

"You do realize there are other countries surrounding us."

"So you asked them to help you?"

"Well… yes I did, but there's a problem… I'm concerned about the moral level of their soldiers."

"Just don't tell them about an expected attack. By the way, how did you get them to help you?"

"Well, that's the part I'm regretting right now… The prince of their country-"

"-Will marry Sakura-hime." A voice interrupted Toya. Descending from the upper levels of the castle, a jet-black haired boy walked down the stairs. Dressed in fine clothes and wearing glasses on his face, the boy smirked.

"My name is Eli Hikari. Nice to meet you."

"You're the prince?"

"Indeed. My father sent me here with the twenty battalions of soldiers to assure that I will take Sakura-hime's hand." Kurogane's hand twitched instinctively towards his sword.

"Well… we're just glad you're willing to help us."

"Think nothing of it. I am curious however. You two do not seem to be from around here…"

"We're travelers."

"Ah, I see. Also, where has Sakura-hime been for the past ten months?"

"It's only been ten months?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, nothing. We went on a journey to save her from death."

"What was the threat?"

"It's complicated."

"Then I will implore that question no longer. As for the morality of the soldiers, I can assure you that they will fight for you as hard as they fight for our country."

"When will the wedding take place?"

"I am not certain, but I do not concern myself with that. I will indeed marry her one day. However it does not concern me greatly right now."

"Who required that Sakura-chan's hand will be given in exchange for the alliance and aid?"

"My father. However, I disapprove of this arranged wedding. I am mostly concerned for Sakura-hime."

"Why are you worried for her?"

"Because to be one who cannot choose is a very unfortunate and sad position that I feel none should be forced to take."

"Then why do you take up the offer?"

"Because I feel that I have a duty as a prince to care for my neighbors. This will ultimately prepare me to be a king in the future."

"Toya…" A soft voice echoed behind them. Sakura was close to tears as she came face to face with her brother. "Why would you do something like this to me?"

"Sakura, I didn't have a choice, and at the time I didn't know." Toya went closer to hug his sister

"Leave me alone." Sakura retreated back to her room.

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As Sakura left the room, Eli felt a nervous feeling in his gut. His leg unnoticeably twitched and he felt a bit queasy. However, he felt an odd sadness inside of him, looking into her sad eyes, which could've been assumed to hold much happiness before.

"I wonder why she is so angry…" Eli calmly said.

"It's complicated…" Toya, Kurogane, and Fai all said at once.

"Very well…" Eli focused himself back to the matter at hand, shaking off that odd feeling for Sakura.

"I'm going to talk to her." Kurogane walked after Sakura.

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"You're pathetic…" Kurogane started.

"Kurogane-san, leave me alone."

"You're acting like a big baby Sakura-chan, you need to move on."

"It's not that easy." Sakura started to break down.

"Sakura-chan… I know it isn't easy, but you have to move on." Sakura simply cried.

"Look, if I could get through my princess' death, you can get over Syaoran's death."

"It's not as easy."

"You're wrong Sakura-chan, it was just as hard on me as it is to you now."

"Why?"

"Tomoyo-hime had been there for me since I was a teenager, ever since my parents were killed."

"Your parents?"

"The kid never told you about my past?" Sakura merely shook her head. "At that one world we visited, with the huge library, we found a book completely empty. After I looked through it, Syaoran took the book and saw my memories. From that, he learned why Ginryuu was so precious to me and my unpleasant adolescent years.

My father left with Ginryuu to kill a monster which had beaten him up pretty badly. I was instructed to protect my mother, who was the miko at the time, and make sure that the barrier stayed up and repelled monsters. But, something went wrong. During my watch, my mother was killed. I now found out what it was I saw, after my experiences in dimension traveling. A hand stuck out from a portal, and stabbed my mother with a huge sword. What disturbs me is that it looked exactly the same as the sword that killed Syaoran. Not long after, a huge monster intruded into our city, killing a good number of our people. When it came to me, I saw a hand in its mouth, clutching Ginryuu. The sword dropped and I lost all of my senses.

Souma and the empress of Japan later told me that when they found me, the monster was completely slaughtered and bloody. In my eyes was a pure white rage and blood stained my body. Since that moment, Tomoyo-hime took me into her service rather than hiring someone else. She even helped me through my parents' death. But now she's gone isn't she? The times I had when I was under her service were unforgettable. I'd lost my old master who went off with my father, and a good number of friends in the ninja battalion. Tomoyo-hime comforted me and took me into her counsel."

"Kurogane-san, I won't be able to get through this soon, so please just let me be."

With a sigh, Kurogane turned to leave, acknowledging defeat, however he went closer to Sakura and dropped two sheathed knives next to her.

"Where did you get these?" Sakura curiously inquired.

"That hooded guy dropped these when he ran."

"Aren't you afraid that I might kill myself?"

"No, because what I'm about to tell you next will prevent that…"

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"Syaoran's killer is still out there." Kurogane turned away, knowing he wouldn't have to worry anymore.

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Iroel's note: Well, this chapter was finished in some decent amount of time. Anyway, that stuff on Kurogane's past are all a part of the manga. Kurogane did have a father who was killed mercilessly by a huge monster. Kurogane did lose a good friend in the ninja squad. And Kurogane's mom was assassinated. (Chapitre 96, The Boy's Roar). Chapter 8 should be coming out soon. I'm still working into a massive conflict which you won't want to miss. (I know you miss Syaoran T.T I miss him too!)


	8. Climax: The breath before the plunge

**Chapter 8: Breath before the plunge**

Iroel's Note: Hey everyone and thanks for the reviews. There are many twists and turns planned for you guys so be patient. (I miss Syaoran too T.T) In about one week after this chapter is finished, I will change the rating to M so change your filter settings to accept M rated fanfics as well.

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_Chapitre Huit: _Le souffle avant que la plonge

Dawn was breaking on Clow as the vigilant soldiers stood firm for intruders. Things were quiet and suspenseful, enough to course fear through the soldiers. Looking side to side, things seem to be calm, and then one of the high guards broke the silence.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

A hooded man approached the powerful gates, as if to challenge the nation. His garment was torn in different places, but enough was there to cover his identity. The cloak itself was faded and grey, telling a sad story.

"I'm no one special, just let me past. I'm only armed with a sword, unless you count my pack as a weapon."

"Very well, however we will be keeping close watch on you. This country is on high alert."

Silently, the man walked on. Two soldiers followed him from a distance until he reached the houses near the castle where he promptly took a seat next to a small house. He sat still as if he were dead.

--------------------------

"All this waiting is annoying me. When will they attack?"

"Has anyone noticed that the ground is pretty dark today?"

"Fai-san," Toya started, "There are a lot of clouds out right now, there's bound to be a lot of shadows. Fai still seemed troubled.

"Yukito," Toya turned to his friend, "Sound the bell. All soldiers are to take their positions."

--------------------------

Eli paced around, waiting for the attack, but his thoughts were plagued by one person.

"Sakura-san…" Eli tried to shake her from his thoughts, but it was almost impossible. She held him enthralled. A loud bell shook him from his thoughts as he gripped his weapon.

--------------------------

Sakura sat in a different room, isolated from everyone else. Hugging her legs to her body as she sat, she became lost in thought for Syaoran.

"I won't die yet, Syaoran…"

The bell stopped, leaving a suspenseful silence.

--------------------------

Wives gave their husbands parting kisses, praying that their beloved would return…

--------------------------

Young lovers hugged and cried as they departed from each other…

--------------------------

Fai and Kurogane got their weapons to their sides and went down to the castle entrance, ready to dash off and aid those at the gates…

--------------------------

The royalty and the king sat is silence, praying to get through this as Eli stood firm, able to focus on what mattered the most.

--------------------------

Guards prayed as they stood at their posts, hoping that their loved ones and their country would survive.

--------------------------

The hooded one stirred.

--------------------------

As the citizens marched to the castle where, underground, was a safe haven, the entire city seemed to hold its breath.

"King Toya…" The head captain was sorrowful, "Those shadows expanding for miles on the plains of our desert… they're not shadows… They're all soldiers about three thousand miles away."

--------------------------

Far away from the city, soldiers armed themselves with weapons. Various others took on the savage monsters, the specialty of Kurogane's world. Mages took up their staffs and prepared their spells. The entire army marched up near the gates, just outside of an arrow's reach, but close enough to run without tiring fast. Ten leaders walked up in front of them. They lifted their hands and sounded the drums. Soldiers and monsters alike lunged towards the walls of the city.

The battle had begun.

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As the soldiers ran to the gate, ladders were produced in front of them to scale the heights of the wall. Rains of arrows flew and kill many soldiers on the ground, but spells and darts took some on top. The gate was being rammed by huge monsters. Spearmen and swordsmen fought the soldiers on the top as many warriors waited at the gates.

With a final thud, the gate crashed, revealing huge monsters that attacked immediately, killing soldiers in the front. Kurogane and Fai came to the front, slicing away soldiers and destroying the monsters. A cyclone wave was sent at the incoming soldiers from Kurogane, but there were still too many coming. Fortunately for Clow, the monsters were bigger in size and poorly armored, allowing arrows to quickly kill them. But, the wall was taken as the soldiers retreated back and fended off the soldiers. The frontal defense backed from the gates and headed back for the castle, destroying and killing what they could as they retreated backwards. Corpses soon piled the streets. Soon, they reached the entrance of the castle. A few hundred soldiers and monsters were thrashing the retreating men. Kurogane, Fai, and the soldiers did not notice the hooded man behind them, who finally stood.

"Run into the castle now, don't worry about the invaders." The man quickly took down five monsters in a flash of movement. Not even Kurogane was able to track that kind of speed.

The soldiers obeyed and ran into the castle. Kurogane and Fai followed after as the man walked backwards towards the castle, easily repelling the soldiers with few strikes and blows. Arrows and spells couldn't hit him, nor could the soldiers. The man was fast, viciously beating the men and the monsters. Not before long, all of the soldiers who ran after the retreating defenders were killed.

"Close the castle doors." The man said as he walked past.

Soldiers prepared themselves at the next defense point, the entrance to the underground fort where the rest of the soldiers and archer defended the people. Barricades were quickly made in the hallways, making it so that there was only one way to the underground. Kurogane and Fai climbed the stairs to a window to overlook the entrance.

"There's way too many of them out there."

"It can't be helped I guess."

"Still not going to use magic?"

"I can't, even if I wanted to, those soldiers are protected by those mages' barriers."

"Excuse me…" The hooded one appeared behind them. "We should start heading towards the underground."

"Captain," Kurogane called to the tall man at the barricade, "is everyone underground?"

"Hai, Kurogane-sama."

"Very well, move back everyone to the underground. No point in holding this entrance." The soldiers quickly hustled and closed the doors behind them.

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"This is more like a friggin' stadium than a fort." Kurogane stared at the enormous underground. "There's even seats for god's sake."

"This was originally intended for shows and entertainment, but we decided this would be our last strongpoint." The Captain explained. "We can position our archers at the base of those seats but above those walls. Swordsmen can be place in those small entrances on the three sides. The civilians will be at the very top area of the seats, taking cover using barricades we've already set up."

"What about the remaining men? You have too many swordsmen, too little bows and arrows, and there's not enough room in those entrances for all of your soldiers." Fai quickly observed.

"That is what the actual stadium is for…" The Captain said sadly. "Many of our men will be positioned here, to fight the enemy head-on."

"You can't survive against that many soldiers."

"But we can still kill many can we not?"

"I see."

"Well, Kuro-sama, are you going to stay down here and fight? Or are you going to protect the citizens?"

"I can go either way."

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A thud was heard from outside of the doors. The soldiers were already in place before that. Everyone stood in silence, praying for the future of their loved ones and beloved home.

Thud.

Kurogane swore under his breath that he would kill as many as he could as a final act of vengeance for his princess.

Thud.

Fai wondered if maybe this was is salvation and redemption. He had succeeded after all, and never met "him" again.

Thud.

Eli knew that it was foolish to be down at the base, but reminded himself of his duty. At least he would be remembered.

Thud.

"I won't die yet, Syaoran…"

The gate burst open.

Blood spewed across the stadium as soldiers fought defenders. Arrows from both sides flew and killed mages and attackers alike. Defenders burned from spells cruelly cast by mages. The attackers lost many, but many kept coming. Black soldiers quickly dashed in, stabbing whatever they could from behind.  
A black soldier snuck up behind, intent on killing Kurogane. The Captain caught the blow on his chest and fell to the ground, dead. Kurogane returned the favor and butchered the soldier

For a moment, it seemed the stopped. Only to be proven correct as a hooded man stepped in with a large sword on his back. A swish of a pure white cloak caught Kurogane's eye, before he was blown backwards by a kick. Seishiro had come.

A fusion of elements caught Fai off guard. The technique challenged every physical aspect of Fai. Only to find his worst nightmare to come true and come face to face with that which he fled from. Ashura's eyes were filled with a murderous intent.

"Hello, Fai…"

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Almost simultaneously, Fai and Kurogane lunged at their new challengers, throwing everything they got and fighting with intentions on killing. However, the soldiers had tired them too much, and they were repelled back easily. Ashura cast a force field, repelling everyone back to the walls, everyone except Sakura. Soldiers pounded against the wall in vain, their princess was as good as dead. Seishiro walked up to Sakura, the lieutenant followed behind. As he reached her, he crouched down to look her in the face.

"Hello, Sakura-san."

Sakura was trapped, but that feeling never really bothered her before. Her focus was directed towards Seishiro and the lieutenant. Maybe this was her chance.

"Seishiro-san…" Sakura started. "Why?" Sakura was unable to fully voice her questions.

"Power…" Seishiro simply replied. Sakura simply looked shocked. Seishiro had sacrificed Syaoran, betrayed her, Kurogane, and Fai and killed many of her people just for power? Sakura knew what she had to do next.

Quickly moving her hand, two large pellets hit the floor from her sleeves and smoke surrounded a large portion of the stadium. Mysteriously, black cloths appeared on the floor as Sakura grabbed one and took cover in the smoke. Seishiro signaled his lieutenant to go in. Eyeing a black cloth, the lieutenant stabbed downward on the cloth, only to find that he'd been tricked.

"Shit!" The lieutenant struggled to bring his sword out of the ground. A quick-moving figure dashed towards him and sliced him twice with two knives. The wound wasn't deep enough to kill him, but it still hurt like hell.

"God damnit bitch! I'm going to butcher you!" The lieutenant pulled out his sword and ran where Sakura had dashed off. The lieutenant felt a sharp pain on the back of his leg. Sakura had cut his muscle. With a cry of pain, the lieutenant fell clutching his leg. Sakura came up and slashed him again, and once again disappeared into the smoke. The lieutenant willed himself to follow and saw a black cloth in the air. Recklessly, he stabbed and sliced at it.

"Shit." He'd been tricked again. Sakura once again took this opportunity and slashed as many times as she could. Then she quickly disappeared.

Seishiro was disturbed at the screams of pain from his lieutenant. Was Sakura always this strong? Ashura stepped up and cast his spell, blowing away the smoke. No more hiding places for Sakura.

"Damnit." Seishiro saw many black cloths lying on the floor. All looked as if Sakura were under them. The piled corpses added to the difficulty of locating Sakura.

"Seishiro-san, if you don't mind, I'm going to cast another spell to attack all of those cloths at the same time.

"No, we have to kill her with the Soul Breaker."

The Lieutenant walked up to a cloth and stabbed it, another fake. At least this time she couldn't sneak up behind and slash him. Too many were watching now. Caught by surprise, the lieutenant screamed in pain. A large spear had got him square in the back.

Seishiro looked in shock. Where did that spear come from? Apparently it wasn't thrown in too deep because the lieutenant was still alive.

--------------------------

"Kurogane…" Fai was serious again, "When did Sakura learn to fight like that?"

"I don't know." Kurogane was shown again how powerful a force vengeance was.

--------------------------

The lieutenant stabbed again. This time he whirled around to see anything that was going to attack him. A clash of steel was heard behind him.

"Shit." The lieutenant turned around, only to see Sakura being held by her throat by Seishiro. Her knives dropped to the floor from her hands.

"That was all pretty impressive, Sakura-san. It seems you and Syaoran are very similar. The truth and adversities continue to make you both strong. However, that increase of power has ended. Both you and Syaoran are now dead." The lieutenant came up and thrust the Soul Breaker at Sakura. Sakura simply closed her eyes, and hoped she would die without too much suffering.

But the blade never reached her.

Seishiro looked in horror at what used to be his lieutenant. Blood flowed from his face and entire body. His entire form was completely ravaged by an unseen attacker. His second horror was that Sakura was missing.

"_What the hell is going on!_"

"Her journey has not come to an end…" A voice behind Seishiro challenged him. Seishiro turned to see a hooded figure with faded gray color on his cloak and rips almost everywhere. But his face was still hidden. Sakura looked confused and surprised in his arm. "Come and kill me if you wish to kill her." He spoke with an unbelievable calmness.

"_How did this guy get through Ashura's field?"_

"Come on." The hooded one challenged.

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"It seems Sakura will be safe for enough time." Kurogane was shocked at the hooded on.

"I'll work on breaking this field while he holds them off."

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Soldiers lunged from all sides to attack him, but he simply dodged and killed the soldiers. He was too fast, even with Sakura in his arm. No one could see his weapon. He must've unsheathed it and sheathed it faster than any person could see. Soldiers continued to die.

"Ashura-san, help me fight him." Seishiro took off his cloak and dashed towards the hooded one, sword pointed forward and ready to kill. Seishiro released a gasp of pain as his back was slashed. Blood poured down his sides as he fell to the ground. Steadily lifting himself up, he stared in confusion. He couldn't have move that fast…

Seishiro widened his eyes and shock and lifted his sword to block his side. Steel clashed with steel. And then the pressure went away. The hooded one was still in the same spot.

"Shit… He's fast…"

Ashura cast spells at the stranger, different elements lunging from his hand. The hooded one simply repelled the back with his arms and hands. Seishiro and Ashura couldn't even touch him. Then it hit Seishiro.

"Ashura-san, could you detect the area around me?" A blue light emitted from Ashura's hand, revealing a second and invisible stranger. They were both exactly the same.

"What the hell?" Seishiro was caught by surprise. He turned and realized that he had been aiming for a fake the entire time. The real one was attacking him when he didn't expect it. He created the illusion that he was incredibly fast. "_That must be why we didn't see his weapon when he killed our soldiers._" The fake dissolved into sand.

"So you finally figured it out?" The hooded stranger asked. Seishiro lunged towards Sakura with Soul Breaker. The hooded one simply lifted his sword and stopped Seishiro. Now they were locked and could not move. Ashura began to cast a spell. This one was different however. He was taking his time. Sudden binds clamped to the hooded one, trapping him. Sakura was bound also. "_Crap._"

He knew he could easily get out of the binds and escape the spell, but that's what they wanted. As soon as he moved to avoid the spell, Seishiro would lunge in and kill Sakura. If he didn't move, he would die… Unless…

"Please run away." Sakura pleaded. "Save my people and defeat these soldiers. Please."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you die."

"I'm not worth dying for."

"You are significant because of your existence. You cannot be allowed to die. I won't allow it. Fei Reed must not be allowed to have the Tsubasa." Sakura sadly looked away.

"Do you believe this is the end?" Sakura looked surprised. "Because if you think so, I'm going to prove that it isn't."

The spell finished.

A large explosion occured and created a massive crater. Thankfully it did not harm Sakura. But in the center of the blast, a silhouette was seen in the smoke.

--------------------------

Fei Wang Reed looked upon that which he sought forever. He widened his eyes and gasped in shock. His mission had completely changed now.

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Seishiro backed away in horror. It had to be his nightmare again. None of this was true. None of this was possible.

"Seishiro-san, you were right." The silhouette spoke. "As I continue to advance through adversities and discover the truth, it will continue to make me stronger and stronger. The truth did so beyond anyone's imagination. But you're wrong… It hasn't ended for Sakura… or me…"

The hood was blown off. Standing in the massive crater, with a bandage on his head covering his right eye and glaring with the eye of a scarred soul,

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was Syaoran.

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Iroel's note: Please note that in about a week, I will change this rating to M so change your filter settings to include M if you want to find this fanfic. Chpt. 9 will come asap.


	9. Salvation: Eyes of the Angel & Demon

**Chapter 9: Eyes of the Angel and the Demon**

Iroel's Note: Yea. I deeply apologize for this late chapter. I've been busy catching up with the xxxHolic storyline (hint: what's coming next) and been trying to get my internet back up. I'm intending to use as much information as possible to create a possibility that the actual Tsubasa storyline could end up like (after all it is a fanfiction --). Enjoy this chapter :D. By the way, Soul Breaker is that giant sword that was flung at Sakura. Also it is the same sword on the back of that one guy who tracked down the group in Kurogane's world.

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_Chapitre Neuf_: Les yeux de l'Ange et le Démon

_"Hey, Syaoran… That thing I wanted to tell you? I'll tell you later, ok? I WILL tell you."_

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"Isn't it so strange, Seishiro-san? Who would've thought it'd end up like this?" Syaoran calmly spoke, intimidating Seishiro. Seishiro merely stood shocked and horrified.

"Damnit," Seishiro silently thought, "None of this should be happening…" He looked over the horribly mutilated corpse of his late lieutenant. One of his finest men was now dead. Despite his successfulness of tracking down the group, he still failed at the one crucial part of the plan, the murder of Sakura.

"I have to get Soul Breaker…" He looked at the enormous sword lying harmlessly on the ground next to the corpse. Unfortunately, it was right behind Syaoran.

"What's wrong, Seishiro-san?" Syaoran's sword was still in its hilt.

"What did he use to block off that blast?" Seishiro wondered. Syaoran didn't look so well. Seishiro intended to find out why.

"Damn…" Syaoran felt the prick immediately. "That was too close from breaking the seal…" He brought his hand to the bandage over his eye. "Stay there for me… please…"

Sakura knew there was something wrong with Syaoran. He was hurt somewhere. She knew that look in his eye. But she kept silent.

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"Fei-sama…" Fei's assistant came up next to where he was seated. A serious matter has risen.

"It's in front of me."

"No sir, not that matter. I'm talking about something else. It's about the _other_ party." Fei was intrigued.

"Put the information up on the side screen." A light emitted from the wall, displaying statistics. There was already enough surprise with Syaoran's return.

"Impossible… are you sure this is correct?"

"Hai, Tomoyo Daitôjihas successfully managed to pull off what we've been trying to do for 30 years." Fei stared silently at the figure slowly coming together. It was impossible to map the location. After all, you couldn't map what was happening in the infinite worlds.

"Also, sir, I thought you might be interested about what the Witch has been up to recently." More data was put up in another side monitor. Fei opened his communicator.

"Listen closely," he started, "A serious matter has arisen within three parties. Your next objective is the Witch. She MUST be eliminated."

"And I thought we were in this together…" A voice replied. "But you're right. It has gotten way out of control. However I think we can use the other two parties to our advantage and eliminate Yuko at the same time. But first thing's first. I'll be heading to Destination 95004 shortly. I have to deal with something first." The communicator shut off with a click.

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"Are you still wondering, Seishiro-san?" Syaoran struggled to keep the pain from showing.

"Indeed. How did you come back from the dead? Not even those rumoured to be the gods could do such a thing themselves."

"That perspective changes depending on which world you're in and what gods really are in the scheme of the infinite worlds." Syaoran calmly replied

"Then what would you call them?"

"It's my belief that they are the angels. There can only be one superior and absolute high power in the entire universe, or nothing would be the way it is."

"Well, it seems one of us has become quite religious."

"You'd be surprised what death can do to you." Syaoran merely smirked. Seishiro knew something was definitely wrong. Syaoran never had these conversations with his enemies, nor did he smirk in the face of seriousness. There was an uncomfortable and ominous feeling when he said 'you'.

"Damnit," Syaoran thought, "I have to end this now. It's getting too unstable."

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"Not now. Maybe as a parting gift when your death is at hand…" Syaoran pulled out Hien from its sheath and firmly placed his position. Seishiro followed in suit, pulling out his own sword.

"Sakura…" He said in an almost inaudible whisper. "Just stay here, and don't try to break free." Four transparent walls arose around her, imprisoning her. "Those will keep you safe unless I die."

"Syaoran…" Sakura couldn't even be heard.

"Ashura-san," Seishiro turned to the mage, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't interfere."

"Very well…"

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Syaoran and Seishiro took off and lunged at each other simultaneously. Steel met steel and sent sparks away. Syaoran quickly swung his sword, turning his body swiftly, towards both sides of Seishiro and then switched off by randomly attacking other areas. The delay between each strike was too short for Seishiro to strike in between. Desperately, Seishiro took a shallow cut from Syaoran's sword and stabbed his own sword towards Syaoran's face. Syaoran ducked forward and swung his sword diagonally as he quickly rose up. Blood spewed from Seishiro's front. Luckily for him, the cut wasn't deep enough to kill him. Seishiro propelled himself backward to catch his breath.

"Damnit. He's countering everything I throw at him." Seishiro almost lost sight of Syaoran as he dashed off to the side and lunged at Seishiro. Seishiro saw an opening and took it. He sidestepped just in time and stabbed his sword downward to Syaoran's passing body. The sword caught Syaoran in the back and penetrated out his abdomen. Seishiro instantly realized the problem.

"Shit!" He yelled as he desperately tried to pull the sword from the corpse. He leaned back just in time to avoid a second Syaoran from stabbing him from the side. Syaoran quickly retreated back away from Seishiro.

Seishiro had little time to wonder why Syaoran retreated. The fake Syaoran moved suddenly and grabbed Seishiro's arm and shoulder. Seishiro noticed the burning slip of paper on its chest.

Seishiro was blown a very far distance by the explosion. He landed on his feet, but coughed out blood and felt crippled as he tried steadying himself. No way could a burning piece of paper do that much damage, he thought.

"That copy was rigged with gunpowder if you were wondering." Syaoran slowly walked toward Seishiro. "The paper led to the inside of the body from the chest and activated all of the gunpowder inside." Seishiro quickly readied himself again and brought his sword in front of him, panting heavily and ignoring the blood dripping from him.

"When did he make a second copy of himself?" Seishiro thought.

"I created a second one of myself in the exact image of my position in front of me. I sunk into the ground and had the copy try to sneak swiftly on you." It seemed as if Syaoran could read Seishiro's mind. "Apparently I didn't do enough damage to you." Syaoran observed.

Seishiro immediately lunged for Sakura. Syaoran stood calmly, knowing that Seishiro could not possibly hurt Sakura with the field around her. Then he realized the real reason.

"The tides have changed, Syaoran." Seishiro calmly held Soul Breaker in his hand. All of the circular gems on its edge shown and emitted an aura around Seishiro.

"Shit…" Seishiro's wounds faded away and his entire body began to calm down drastically. However, there was something wrong. Not only had he fully restored himself, but it seemed that he may have increased in power in some way. Syaoran sensed a heavy change in Seishiro's aura.

"Why does everything always have to get so complicated for me?" Syaoran wondered to himself. The pain started to come back and Syaoran's vision began to become blurry. "No… not yet… please just give me some more time to deal with this."

"Very well…" An answer rumbled back from his conscious.

"Say, Syaoran, I'm very curious about what you said about the truth making you stronger. Care to explain a bit better?" Seishiro started by taunting him.

"And if I don't?" Syaoran challenged, only to find himself fending off a flurry of strikes from Seishiro's sword at surprising speeds. Syaoran caught an opening and pushed back, sending Seishiro flying back. They were both where they started.

"I suppose the citizens could wait a little longer. After all, you are their last hope, if you haven't noticed." Every person was looking hopefully at Syaoran.

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"What's taking so fucking long?" Kurogane demanded from Fai.

"There's nothing I can do to make this go faster. Ashura put everything into this barrier."

"How much more time until you can break it?"

"Not for another 30 minutes at least."

"Damnit…"

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From another part of the underground stadium/fort, Eli worked his way to tear a gap in the barrier. He would be the hero. He would save this country and win Sakura's heart, not some mysterious stranger back from the dead. Eli felt hope as he saw a very small gap in the barrier which he had made with his own spells.

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Syaoran felt oddly cornered by Seishiro's newfound power, but he still remained calm.

"I have to finish this fast. If I can keep track of his movements, I can fend him off without using too much energy. I can't afford waste too much effort on him, or else…" Syaoran counseled himself. "Just be calm and keep your eye on the target…"

"Just let me interfere and I will deal with all this." The voice came back.

"No… I won't let you hurt Sakura…"

"Who says I will?"

"I _know_ you will. I already know your plans and what you need to do to fulfill them."

"I promise I won't kill her. I just want the Tsubasa."

"What then after that?" The voice was quiet. "I know what you need to do after you gain the Tsubasa. I can't allow you to have the Tsubasa at all."

"Don't you think its odd how Sakura doesn't seem to possess the Tsubasa at all?" Syaoran hid his nervousness.

"What are you talking about? How else would they have gotten to Clow?" The voice seemed satisfied with the answer.

There was something wrong with Syaoran. Seishiro noticed that Syaoran doesn't seem to really pay attention. It was as if he was talking to someone else. Swiftly, he decided to take advantage of this opportunity and lunged forward with his sword. Syaoran was caught by surprise for a brief moment, and successfully fended Seishiro off. A few black soldiers rushed up to stab Syaoran. He simply turned and killed all of them with a swing of his sword. Seishiro came up faster than Syaoran could react and slashed and cut Syaoran in seven locations in symmetry with each other on Syaoran's body.

Syaoran fell to the ground and gasped. Seishiro had gotten his arms, legs, and the top part of his head. The head wound wasn't fatal, but the other wounds made it very difficult for him to move now. He struggled to get up, but Seishiro cruelly brought his foot up and pushed Syaoran back down by stepping on him. A small bone in Syaoran's back cracked.

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Syaoran managed to stifle a cry of pain, but Sakura couldn't help but feel her heart break.

"Syaoran…" A tear drop moved its way down her cheek.

Seishiro brought his foot to Syaoran's side and sent him flying to the walls. He made contact with the wall, but managed to break his fall. Seishiro smirked.

"I knew you'd screw up." The voice was happy now. Syaoran began to lose control and realized his hand was moving to the bandage.

"No!" Syaoran screamed as the bandage was torn off.

To everyone else, nothing significant seemed to happen after the bandage was taken off. But Seishiro still felt uneasy about Syaoran's aura and dashed forward to stab him. He suddenly found Hien held against his throat. Syaoran was right behind him.

"What the hell?" His eyes widened in shock.

"It's finally my turn to come out and play." Syaoran said, but the voice was different in a menacing way.

"What are you talking about?" Seishiro turned around and saw it immediately,

Syaoran's eyes had changed dramatically. The bandaged eye was black and red, woven in a strangely demonic pattern. Three red lines extended from the black pupil and the rest of the eye resembled Fai's tattoo in red while the gaps in between were black. The other eye however was drastically different than the right eye. It was pure white with blue lines resembling the Tsubasa extending in a repeating pattern around the eye from the center.

"Angels have mercy upon me…" Seishiro said under his breath. He knew it was over for him, unless a miracle happened.

Syaoran laughed at Seishiro. His sinister tone echoed through the underground.

"What's the matter? You don't want to fight?" Syaoran prodded. "How boring…"

At blinding speed, Syaoran swung his sword against Seishiro's back and thrust him in the air. Blood trailed down to the ground as Syaoran flew upward to Seishiro. He mimicked Seishiro's technique and slashed Seishiro in the same areas and slashed once more to send him back down. More blood splattered from Seishiro. Syaoran brought his foot down on Seishiro, causing him to bounce up in the air. With a powerful side kick, Seishiro flew to the wall, creating a crack in the barrier. Seishiro fell to the ground.

As if the cruel strikes weren't enough, Syaoran came over to him and brought his sword in the air, and brought it down on Seishiro's hand. The sword pierced the hand to the ground. Seishiro grimaced in pain. Syaoran took out the sword and aimed for Seishiro's other hand, but was interrupted by a well-aimed spell that he narrowly dodged.

"I thought he told you not to interfere…" Syaoran shot a dirty look at Ashura.

"It's quite obvious that Seishiro-san can no longer go on. I will be your opponent. I know what you are and I am not prone to the same fears Seishiro had when he looked into your eyes."

"Finally…" Syaoran looked very happy. He lunged forward for the kill.

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Near the edge of the barrier, no one seemed to notice that the barrier around Sakura was now gone. She brought herself next to Seishiro quickly and quietly. That couldn't be Syaoran. It wasn't him, she kept telling herself. Seishiro should have answers for her.

"Seishiro-san…" Seishiro was awake but he chose to remain silent. "Please, I know that you're alive, so give me answers now." She held a knife pointed to his neck threateningly.

"Go ahead and kill me. It makes no difference because everyone here's dead."

"Why?"

"That isn't the same Syaoran you know. I'm not sure why Fei didn't realize the possibility this would happen, but now he's unleashed the power of his ancestry."

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Syaoran continued forward to Ashura at an incredibly fast pace. Ashura wasn't confused by his frequent turns to the side. He prepared a few quick spells to throw at Syaoran. But he felt that something wasn't right. He turned around quickly to see a second Syaoran come up with his sword to stab him. He used his bare hand to move the sword away from hitting him and suffered a deep cut on his hand. Syaoran followed through with a roundhouse kick in midair and brought it to the side of Ashura's face. Ashura went flying to the other side. Before he hit the ground, Syaoran ran over to the other side and side-kicked Ashura in the stomach, sending him in the air only to land on Syaoran's fist.

"Just for your information, what you saw charging at you wasn't a copy. What you saw was an afterimage."

Ashura struggled to get up and gasped deeply. He had underestimated that he believed was overestimated.

"Perhaps now I should tell everyone." Syaoran seemed calm that he had enough time to waste.

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"Project Marionette…" Syaoran started. "I'm certain you are familiar with it Seishiro." Seishiro was quiet. "The sole purpose was to use a second Syaoran from Fei's laboratory and synchronize it with the other Syaoran. The one who's purpose of creation was to obtain the Tsubasa from subject 61, Sakura Reed." Sakura looked up. "Project Marionette went off with only one complication, the inability to keep the synchronization going on for more than 3 hours. It was then decided that those 3 hours would be used for the crucial part of taking the Tsubasa from Ms. Reed. In the meantime, however, Fei was able to keep a close eye on Syaoran and take on his objectives as the operation proceeded. The close relationship that developed between Sakura and Syaoran added to the advantage which Fei would strike. However, when the Tsubasa awoke, everything got screwed up when Syaoran interfered with Sakura's kidnapping. Fei was unable to synchronize the two Syaorans together to have Syaoran make sure everything went off without a hitch. The prediction that Syaoran would be needed to set off the Tsubasa was incorrect. But if the whole thing succeeded, it wouldn't have mattered. After Syaoran's death, I myself moved on to the afterlife. Mysteriously, we fused our conscious and personalities when we found ourselves in the same region of space and time, but he resisted and the result was an entity with split personalities."

"Is that all it was? Syaoran used as a puppet to kidnap me?" Sakura felt angry.

"Of course that wasn't the only purpose." Syaoran replied laughing. "Syaoran's other crucial role was the assassination of Fujitaka-san and Clow Reed." A stunned silence echoed through the underground."

"What?"

"That's right; Syaoran is responsible for the deaths of his foster father and the King of Clow."

"No… That's not true. Syaoran didn't kill anyone."

"How else did Fujitaka and Clow Reed die in an excavation where there was nothing wrong with the support beams?" Sakura felt horrified. "Syaoran destroyed the three main support columns causing the entire thing to cave in." Sakura couldn't take it anymore.

"No… please just stop. Syaoran never murdered anyone when he was that young." Sakura brought her hands to her ears, desperately trying to block out everything.

"Syaoran is the murderer of your beloved father, you bitch." Syaoran laughed as Sakura started to cry. To hear those words from who she loved was too much for her. Syaoran's laughter was cut short, and a look of horror was on his face.

"No," he shouted back to his conscious, "It's my turn now, damnit!"

"I can't allow you to continue doing this. You're going to kill everyone after you kill Fei's forces."

"No! I swear I won't. Just let me alone as I am."

"I can't let you do that."

"Damn you!" The original Syaoran took over.

The eyes didn't disappear, but Sakura could tell something had just changed. The left eye seemed much stronger than the right. Syaoran stumbled and caught his balance. His breath was short and he looked fatigued. Calmly, he lifted his sword.

"Stand up, Seishiro-san… I don't want to kill you the way you are.

"Is it you now, Syaoran?"

"Hai…"

"The eyes are still there… but one seems stronger now."

"Seishiro-san," Syaoran sounded much more respectful and kind, "There is a room in the afterlife where those who still have a purpose in this world go to. Not many are ever sent there, obviously, but those who are can be brought back to life by the power bestowed upon the Angels. That is how I got back."

"The Angels? Why would they interfere?"

"Because I have a purpose."

"Do you know what that purpose is?"

"No, but I'm guessing for right now."

"And as for those eyes, I have to wonder at what they truly do and how you managed to get two powers."

"So you've heard of my eyes?"

"Hai, but normally both eyes would be the same."

"When the other Syaoran fused with me, I found that Fei had put the eye of the Angel on him. The eye of the Demon was on me. Why he never put the two together I never could figure out."

"What do they do?"

"The eye of the Angel amplifies my power explosively and grants me a vision range of 360 degrees. You cannot sneak up on me while that one is on. The eye of the Demon amplifies my speed and gives me perception powers to track your every move, giving several possibilities on what I can do."

"I see. That would account for much."

"There's more I would like to tell you, Seishiro-san, however I have to end this now before it's too late to end all this."

"Are you going to finish me now?"

"Hai, I'm very sorry, Seishiro-san. But your life comes to an end here. I can't afford to keep you alive with what I've set out to do."

"Very well… I'm glad that you've become strong Syaoran. I merely regret the fact that I was unable to carry out Fei's will." Syaoran lifted his sword. Seishiro closed his eyes and waited for the blade to take his life. Syaoran brought the sword down.

"No!" Sakura brought her arms around Syaoran from behind, temporarily interrupting him. "Please Syaoran, just stop all of this. Just stop. Don't kill him. I don't want to lose you… Please."

"Sakura…" Syaoran choked up.

"Spare their lives. Please. They're not a threat to you if you can beat them. Just stop killing."

"Sakura…" Syaoran dropped his sword and fell to his knees. "Why does everything have to get so complicated for me?" He said softly.

Seishiro struggled and brought himself to Ashura. The rest of the soldiers ran back to the two leaders and awaited commands to fight. The barrier had fallen. The guards of Clow, Kurogane, Fai, and the soldiers of the Hikari realm were now free to attack. Slowly, they approached to go for the kill. Fai and Kurogane led the main group towards the front, observing for any trap or surprise. However, Eli ran forward with his long sword to kill Seishiro.

Seishiro didn't have enough energy to fight Syaoran, but his strength was still more than enough for this pathetic weakling who was charging at him. However, Ashura decided to take matters into his hands and repelled Eli, sending him flying back.

Kurogane took this opening and swung his sword, killing the three front soldiers guarding the main group of invaders. At the same time, Fai was thrown forward by the force of the sword as it was swung and flew past the rest of the soldiers. He swung his metal rod, sending Ashura and Seishiro flying in opposite directions. The Clow soldiers rushed up and attacked the invaders while they were distracted. Toya swung his huge sword and killed the two remaining lieutenants at once. Ashura ran to Seishiro, avoiding Fai and much as he could and activated the device he pulled from his cloak. The invaders crowded around Seishiro and Ashura, defending them from other attacks. After 3 minutes, a warp portal appeared and Ashura and Seishiro disappeared in a flash. The rest of the invaders followed in suit.

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Eli struggled back on his feet. He felt shamed by his foolish act. But at least it was all over, for now.

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"Syaoran…" Sakura brought her head to his shoulder. Syaoran allowed her to rest her head there for a moment, and then gently pushed her off to the side.

"Syaoran… wait… please…" Syaoran stopped for a moment. "Syaoran, please don't leave."

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I have to go now."

"No, wait. Syaoran, I tried to tell you before so many times. Don't leave, because I lov-" Sakura was interrupted.

"Sakura!" Eli yelled out as he ran toward her. He was followed by Yukito and Toya. "Are you ok?" Sakura merely nodded, but felt her anger rising. Interrupted again…

Toya looked grimly at Syaoran. The eyes had faded away and they were the familiar brown eyes. Syaoran must've found a way to control the other one without that bandage.

"Syaoran-san…" Toya referred to him respectfully.

"I'll be out of your country and life in about a day. I'll be leaving the city right now though."

"My father…"

"…Was killed by me. End of conversation."

"I won't ever forgive you for killing my father."

"I never expected you to." With that, Syaoran walked away slowly and disappeared as the underground crowded. Sakura burst into tears as he disappeared.

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Iroel's note: Whew… this was the longest chapter I've ever written (At least 4000 words). Anyway, Chapter 10 will be finished ASAP. Thank you for all the people who have read thus far. I plan on making the story better and better as it goes on (Iroel --- Could use suggestions). A friend of mine suggested I end this fanfic very soon and make the ending the worst I could make it -- . But don't worry about that, 'cause the fanfiction will go on for a while now (Estimating at least a good 25 chapters or so). Feel free to post reviews or contact me and give me suggestions or just say hi through my AIM: ScShin09

(No spamming please --)


	10. Revelation II: Death takes All

**Chapter 10: Death Takes All**

Iroel's Note: Here is now the 10th chapter. Thank you tangerine otaku for your review, you have brought a lot of errors into my attention which I had intended on revealing this chapter. (I think I failed to make it clear that there were two entities that inhabit Syaoran . )

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_Chapitre dix:_ Mort prend tout

_"Do you hear me Syaoran?" A voice called out. It seemed like a horrible realization when he found himself in such a peaceful and quiet setting. The voice had come from the abyss next to the setting._

"_Where am I?" Syaoran focused his thoughts on the voice._

"_Do you remember nothing of what had occurred?" Memories of the sword and the pain flashed back. Syaoran felt the sadness overwhelming._

"_Is this the afterlife?"_

"_No, it is merely the room where the souls wait. Only few ever enter this room; however it is a terrible thing for they cannot ascend to the true afterlife unless their purpose is fulfilled. They remain here with other souls."_

"_Did I fail my purpose?"_

"_Hai, however you have been assured a second chance. For a brief amount of time, the Angels will restore you to the world of the Living; however this is not permanent, because of the Law. We can only allot you so much time."_

"_Will you explain the plot of the enemy to me?"_

"_The full goal cannot be revealed to you, by the order of the Law. However, we can give you a vague briefing. You are caught in between two sides of a war. The enemy cannot be allowed to succeed, or the order of the Law and Powers will be destroyed, and everything ceases. Your purpose was designated during your death, mysteriously. Thus, because of the sudden change of your purpose, we will grant you the chance of ending this war, one way or another, in order to be able to move on. This is not only for your sake, but for others as well. Many will suffer if this war continues and chaos will reign if we lose."_

"_You are the Angels, why can't you stop the enemy yourself?"_

"_We are bound by the Law as well. Without restrictions, everything collapses."_

"_Who is the enemy?"_

"_The one who has been watching you since the start of your journey; Fei Wang Reed."_

"_Reed?"_

"_Hai, this man is related to the great sorcerer, Clow Reed. We will send you to the main attention of this war, the world of Clow. Here you must find a way to end everything."_

"_I must do this on my own?"_

"_Hai, but we will tell you, that the success of the enemy depends on the possession of the Tsubasa."_

"_Very well…"_

"_It is my regret to inform you that the spirit from the eternal abyss will be hindering your purpose. There is a copy of your image which will now become a part of you. This copy has its own objectives which differ and threaten your purpose. We can only aid you by allowing you to retain your persona, but you must be able to suppress him at certain times._

"_I understand."_

"_Go with great haste, for the power of the Angels can only last for so long."_

_With that, Syaoran awoke to find himself in the center of the Desert of Clow._

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_

Syaoran began to sweat and tire as he continued on to the ruins. He couldn't stop, every second counted.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" The other Syaoran wondered.

"That's none of your business."

"It seems that fight did quite some damage on you."

"Shut up."

"Is it hard to suppress me as the Angels ordered you?" He was being mocked.

"It doesn't matter to me."

"I do wonder what you're up to…" He worked hard to drive into Syaoran's thoughts. Syaoran merely waved it off; the other Syaoran was just as weak as he was.

"Why don't you just go back to the castle?" He started to tempt Syaoran. "Your sweet childhood friend is waiting for you. After all she has missed you. What's to stop you from just taking her heart and merely achieve your desires and passion?"

"There's no point. I've distanced myself from the Princess. God knows I deserve it."

"You can always wave it off with an excuse that you were being controlled."

"You just want me to do all this because then you can easily take control over me and do what you want. I know well of what you're trying to do, so shut up." Syaoran shut off the other Syaoran and continued on.

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"Where did Syaoran go?" Toya wondered.

"Didn't you notice him leaving?" Kurogane stated the obvious.

"Yes, but no one can find him in the city."

"Where else could he have gone to?" Fai asked.

"We're in the middle of a desert. There's no other place Syaoran could've gone to unless he wishes to get a very nice tan."

"Something is very confusing about Syaoran's return." Yukito seemed worried. "No one who is dead can come back alive."

"True, but you heard his explanation."

"Such a thing cannot be free of restrictions."

"What do you assume the restriction is?" Sakura asked.

"Perhaps its time _I_ talked to the Witch." Yukito turned to Mokona. "Can you contact her for me?" Mokona's head lit up and revealed Yuko.

"To whom do I owe the pleasure of talking to _you, _Yukito?" The witch seemed amused.

"This is no time for formalities. Please tell me everything you can about Syaoran's death and resurrection."

"That information is not obliged to you nor is it allowed to anyone."

"That information is of great importance to us. We must know what Syaoran might be up to next."

"I cannot tell you the full story. However, I will reveal this much. Before Syaoran died, I fulfilled his wish to return Sakura's last memory to her. This of course was not without a price."

"What was that price?" Yukito asked.

"One which has the capability of keeping a boy imprisoned alone for all of eternity. He must now obey the Powers which govern the infinite universe. Because of this, he must now fulfill his new purpose before he moves on to the true afterlife, or stay in the Room of Awaiting until that purpose is served."

"What do you mean?"

"Syaoran has now become a pawn within a war which I would have never wished him to enter."

"Can you tell us why Syaoran might've left in such a hurry?"

"My guess is that he wishes to complete whatever the Angels had told him to do."

"Then why the rush?"

"Perhaps your Syaoran may not be truly alive; at least not for long."

"What?" Sakura was surprised.

"Even if one is granted new life, it cannot be for long. Not even the Angels themselves can grant that permeability."

"Please, tell me what Syaoran has to do."

"I myself do not know that, but can you think of clues that regard what this whole war has been over?"

"The Tsubasa?"

"If you can absolutely confirm that, I suggest you get to the ruins immediately, Sakura. There lies the Tsubasa, not within you. You are merely a guardian who is allowed access to the Tsubasa."

"The Tsubasa isn't within me?"

"Indeed. You merely accessed its power due to the unfinished extraction of its power at the ruins. Fei failed in that aspect of his plans. However, as you can see, he hasn't given up."

"Who is this Fei?" Toya finally asked.

"I already told you. He is responsible for the murder of your father."

"But I thought Syaoran was the murderer…"

"Syaoran was a mere puppet in Fei's plans. You should have enough sense to recognize that…" Toya felt the guilt hit him immediately. How does it feel to be forced to kill your own father and find out that it was your hands that were bloodied in the process?

"If you are going to act, I encourage you to act _now_." Yukito vanished from their presence.

"Let's go to the Ruins immediately."

"But the city…"

"Good point… I will stay behind with Yukito and manage everything. Kurogane-san, Fai-san, please handle this with extreme care. I want to at least see Syaoran one more time before his time expires."

"You want us to bring him back?"

"Hai, but only after he's done what he has to do. I could not live with myself knowing that his opportunity for eternal rest was sabotaged."

"Very well… But what if Syaoran attacks us?" Toya was silent.

"I'm going with you." Sakura firmly decided.

"No, you are to stay here Sakura." Toya grabbed her arm.

"I'm going there whether you like it or not. I can sneak out anyway like I used to."

"It's too dangerous."

"I don't care, I have to see Syaoran."

"You can see him afterwards."

"No!" Sakura freed her arm and dashed out of the palace before anyone could stop her.

"Damnit…" Kurogane ran after her, followed by Fai.

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"Honestly, why do you push yourself so hard?" Syaoran found it hard to push the voice away.

"You don't need to question my efforts all the time y'know…"

"I'm just curious. You've been acting very strange, and I do wonder if it may jeopardize me in any way through your actions." Syaoran was silent.

"What are you trying to do that won't allow you to at least rest until you're fully recovered?" Syaoran didn't respond.

"Tell me! Or I will resist you through the entire way." Syaoran's vision started to blur, until he resisted and forced back the other Syaoran.

"Stay there for me, until I do what I need to do."

"You'll get us killed…"

"We're going to die anyway… Our resurrection is limited."

"Then we can stop it. Use the Tsubasa!"

"No."

"We can save ourselves."

"It isn't right."

"Baka! This isn't about morals or rights; this is about survival!"

"I don't care; I'm going to sacrifice myself for this purpose."

"Why? What's the point when no one will care in the future? The world is ungrateful and ignorant."

"It's not for the purpose of being known. I'm doing it to save others hard and terrible misery."

"Then let them have it! The fucking corrupted bastards deserve it!"

"And so do we…" The other Syaoran became quiet. He was like this until he reached the Ruins.

---------------------------------

"Fei-sama… He has arrived."

"Very well, attack him immediately. Do not allow him to get near the center of the two structures." Fei had deducted earlier through Syaoran's behavior that he would attempt to destroy that which would end everything Fei had worked hard for… All to save his beloved princess.

Immediately, an army of black soldiers charged at Syaoran, who had drawn his sword on instinct.

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"If you're so intent on making people suffer," Syaoran said, "Then I suggest you help me give these men hell before we die." The first soldier's torso became detached from his lower body, blood and gore flew in the air, momentarily distracting the tother soldiers. Syaoran's eyes blazed with the Heavenly Eyes.

---------------------------------

Sakura hurried quickly towards the ruins. She was about a mile away, but she knew that there was a fight going on.

"Sakura-chan!" Fai called out. "Don't go in there just by yourself."

"I want to talk to Syaoran."

"We all do, but let's kill those soldiers first shall we?" Kurogane grinned at the thought of a battle.

Though he could dodge all of the attacks from the soldiers, Syaoran found it as a constant struggle to move at the speed he was moving at, even with the help of the other Syaoran. Corpses began to pile up quickly as Syaoran kicked and slashed soldiers. Two snuck behind him, on to be blown away by the cyclone cuts from Syaoran's blade. The other soldiers suffered deep wounds from their torsos and began to tremble and die from too much loss of blood.

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Iroel's Note: Cyclone cuts are generally waves of wind propelled by the sword to cut enemies from a distance (Fictional)

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Syaoran avoided a slash from a soldier as he jumped up. He reacted on impulse by twitching his body to the left, only to narrowly avoid a bullet aimed for his head; however a second bullet got him in the shoulder. Syaoran fell to the ground, nursing his wound.

"Kyle-san…" He turned to come face to face with a black-haired man with glasses.

"Strange way to meet a familiar person, wouldn't you say so Syaoran-kun?" Kyle started to mock him.

"You won't succeed here, the Tsubasa will be destroyed. You should leave if you value your life." The other Syaoran reacted in shock.

"Ah, but you see, Syaoran-kun, we just have to stall you long enough for the power of the Angels to wear off." Syaoran jerked. "Yes, Fei Reed knows about your resurrection. It disappointed him to know it can never be permanent. However, he will gladly have you sacrificed for his plans to come through."

Syaoran felt cornered. Desperation clutched his heart as he knew that he would fail if he tried to kill everyone here. With a cry he ran towards the center of the ruins, sword ready to cut anyone in his way. Soldiers came from behind and slashed him in the sides and back, but he didn't stop, until the other Syaoran resisted and stopped his movement.

"You're planning on destroying the Tsubasa?" Syaoran didn't respond, knowing that it was over for him. "You bastard!"

"Please… just help me do this… Please, I'm begging you." Syaoran was at a desperation.

"I will save us both by using the Tsubasa."

"No… please, we have to destroy it or we'll stay trapped for eternity. You don't want that, do you?"

"We can change all that by reversing time."

"Time doesn't matter to the Angels… We'll die anyway and screw up everything…"

"Liar!" The other Syaoran forced him out and got back to charging at the center. The soldiers started to attack him, until-

"You all right, Syaoran?" He turned around. Kurogane had killed the five soldiers in a single swing. Fai was back to back with him.

"Yeah, thank you."

"Do what you need to do, Syaoran, we'll keep these soldiers off of you." Fai looked at Kyle. Syaoran dashed off to the center and steadies his sword.

"No!" Syaoran tried to stop the other.

"You will thank me when I save us both." He couldn't move Syaoran's will. "Damnit! Let me do what I want!"

"No!" Syaoran struggled for control. Sakura looked from a distance in curiosity. Syaoran seemed to be struggling with himself.

Syaoran presided and forced control.

"No! Don't destroy it!"

"I must…" Hien began to transform. With a glow of golden light, its shape transformed and resembled that of Soul Breaker. The ruins began to tremble and crack. From below, a source of light began to envelope Syaoran. Celestial wings began to form from his back, stuttering and then becoming solid. Syaoran now had the Tsubasa.

---------------------------------

"Fei-sama… I am sorry, but we have failed…" The com was silent.

---------------------------------

Hien flew into the air, the blade pointed down. Syaoran seemed to be spent by the energy it took to take the Tsubasa and fell to the ground on his back. He focused all of his energy onto this one task. It would be done. The pain and weariness would all be over.

"Let it be done!" Syaoran yelled. The sword was at a considerable distance now, still powered by Syaoran's will, and now began to dart towards his heart. Fai and Kurogane looked in horror, realizing what Syaoran was really doing.

"Syaoran! No!" Sakura yelled, dashing towards Syaoran. His eyes opened in surprise. Life was mocking him. He was a man who found hope at the gallows before he was to be hung. Looking at Sakura's teary and desperate face again, his heart broke, and thus came an overpowering desire to live… But the sword still came down. "Let it be done…" He whispered softly.

The sword penetrated Syaoran's chest and in a magnificent glow of pure light, a sphere exploded, surround Syaoran's body. Sand and wind darted to the onlookers as the Ruins crumbled and fell, no longer the strong structures from the ancient times.

---------------------------------

It seemed dark and cold without the sun's absence. Ruined bodies of soldiers lay on the ground as Kyle disappeared in a flash.

Sakura brought herself slowly towards the remains of the ruins. She dreaded the horror of seeing her lover once again dead. She never told him…

She didn't expect to see Syaoran still there. He looked peaceful, and almost happy. His toil and pain wasn't all for nothing, and there was no wound. In fact, Hien was harmlessly by his side. Sakura reached his body and fell to her knees.

"Syaoran…" The tears began to flow.

"Don't cry… princess…" Syaoran's voice was almost unheard, his eyes were barely open. He had at least the last moments to say something.

"Keigo…" Sakura simply said, "I told you to stop using Keigo…"

"I'm sorry." Sakura strained to hear him. "It's over Sakura… No more of your people have to die… But too many have already been taken…Your father… I'm sorry, Sakura…"

"Why, Syaoran… Why did it have to be you?"

"It doesn't matter… At least I'll leave… this way…" He began to lose his energy to talk.

"Syaoran…"

"Sakura… I don't have much time left… I never told you… my last regret… Sakura, everything about you… your smile… your personality… I've wanted to tell you for so long…" His hand reached her cheek. "Live and regret nothing, Sakura… I love you…"

"Syaoran…" Tears welled up uncontrollably as she desperately she brought her hand to keep his where it was.

"You have to let go, Sakura…" Syaoran's words could barely be heard, his hand grew colder and finally…

"Syaoran!" Sakura merely screamed, his hand fell from her cheek as she fell on his body, tears just kept coming. Why couldn't she just tell him then? He never heard the words from her mouth. Kurogane and Fai made their way up slowly to where Sakura was. A green cloak fell from Kurogane's hand, an act of pity. She drew it around herself tightly in hopes of ending the pain in her chest, but the cloak didn't do anything, nor did it provide her any warmth. Sakura just continued to cry as Kurogane and Fai turned around.

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Far from the reaches of any mortal, the council of Angels knew something went horribly wrong…

---------------------------------

No one seemed to notice that for a brief moment, Syaoran's hand had twitched.

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Iroel's note: Yea… This chapter took a long time cause I kinda… slacked off… which accounts for the possibility that a lot of my chapters may be pretty incompetent or confusing or ect. I will try to put more effort and more time into these chapters to reward your patience and appreciation in reading this.


	11. Despair: Reason to Be

**Chapter 11: Reason to Be**

Iroel's Note: Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews and stuff. Once again -- I have slacked off thus the lateness of this new chapter. Gomen. (Note: Yue Yukito's other half in CCS is pronounce Yu-eh) I have made a change in Eli's name. It turns out that I screwed up and the actual name is Eriol (The guy from CCS at the end with those two evil sidekicks)

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_Chapitre onze:_ Raison d'être

"_An unexpected development has occurred. You are assigned to eliminate the target immediately."_

"_Hai…" The white-haired angelic figure responded and left at once._

"An unexpected development… How unusual these days, isn't it, Kero?" Yue asked his partner as they passed through a great expansion of bright white space.

"I'm going to assume that you are being sarcastic." The lion-like beast responded.

"Our target is the Li boy…"

"I don't think I can bring myself to kill that unfortunate soul…"

"Kero, we are to follow orders."

"I know… but that boy…" Kero grew silent as they approached the destination.

"Where the hell is he?" Yue grew troubled.

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"_Syaoran is alive!" Kurogane concluded from checking his pulse._

Sakura found hope again as she sat by Syaoran's side, though the medical room was empty and dark. Of course, the pangs of fear and confusion began to take its toll on her.

"_Will he ever wake up? What if he passes away without talking to me first?"_ Paranoid and frightening thoughts raced through Sakura's mind. Memories of childhood days flooded back with painful distinction, being reminded of the ignorance which she went through. Without thinking, she brought her hand to his hand and laid her head on his chest.

"Syaoran… please don't die… don't die…" Tears rolled down her cheek.

"_It is most unfortunate, but judging by the recent events, he must be sealed in the Great Abyss until we know what to do. He is outside our sphere of control and thus dangerous." The angel proclaimed._

"_Such an unjust action should not be committed, brother, for we must have mercy as the Father had on these people."_

"_Do you not realize the danger of this boy?" A third angrily rebuked._

"_Nonetheless, we must kill him for now the Tsubasa is in his possession. He who is outside our control and possesses such power cannot be allowed to be free."_

"This is bad…" Toya finally said.

"What do you think will come out of this? The whole thing defies everything I've learned in my position." Yukito was deeply concerned.

"How is he still alive?" Kurogane interceded.

"Who knows? Perhaps it's not his fate to die yet."

"But he has just defied death and done the impossible… No one who ascends to the next life ever returns… Not even the angels can grant that."

"Speaking of the angels, they will try to bring this matter down by taking Syaoran into their custody… well at least his soul that is." Toya felt the guilt hit him again.

"What do you mean?" Kurogane fiercely asked.

"They have already sent the agents to kill him…" Fai quietly concluded. A light shone as to justify his claim.

"Where is he?" Yue demanded.

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A warm hand brought itself to the back of Sakura's head, comforting her. The feeling of warmth was quite attractive, making her eager to feel more of it, snuggling closer and closer and closer...

"Sakura… can you get off of me please?"

Sakura jolted straight off the table and sat herself back down looking embarrassed.

"Syaoran…" She looked into his chocolate brown eyes, finding much comfort and gentleness in them, the fierce eyes of power being absent.

"I didn't expect to be alive…" Syaoran sleepily put his cloak on. "I suppose that I won't be here for very long…" He already anticipated the Angels' next move

"Wait, Syaoran…" She grabbed his wrist. "Please… don't leave again… I don't want to lose you before…"

"Before what, Sakura?"

"I wanted to tell you… That I really, really… Syaoran… I-I lo-lov-"

The door opened with a loud bang, a light shining from the point of entry. Two heavenly figures descended and faced Syaoran. Sorrow was evident in the lion's eyes, but the other figure had a firm resolution to follow orders.

"Li Syaoran… Do you understand why we are here?"

"Hai…"

"Your friends were tempted to stop us, however they realized it was useless because they cannot hope to fight the Angels."

"How will this work? Are you going to kill me now?" They were both silent. "What will they do to me?" Again the silence.

"We will assure you that you have enough time to settle your affairs." Yue and Kero headed back up.

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The clock struck five and the bells rang through the castle. Syaoran waited in the throne room, which was still devastated by the attack.

"_Where is the other me?"_ he pondered. A shadow moved through the pillars, evidently trying to quietly sneak in.

"Sakura… what are you trying to do?" Syaoran gave the impression of sleepiness from his voice. Sakura jumped up in shock.

"I… err… I was just going to…" Syaoran simply stared. "I-I was looking for you, Syaoran…" her face blushed rapidly once more. She accidentally tripped on one of the huge chunks laying on the ground the ruined ceiling as she backed away. The red on her face went, if possible, even darker than it was before as she found herself in Syaoran's arms, who managed to catch her. Syaoran felt her smooth arm and surprisingly, he found a strange feeling stir in his mind.

"_I never felt like that before when I touched her arm…_" he thought to himself. Concentrating on his conscious, he managed to split off the feeling and found himself with a familiar entity.

"_I was wondering where you went…_" Syaoran mused to the other Syaoran. "_Don't try to take over like that again._"

"Sakura, why were you looking for me?"

"I-I just had… some questions…" Syaoran looked blank.

"What kind of questions?"

"I was… going to ask you how you know those two…"

"They were with the council of Angels when I ascended." He simply stated.

"Oh… ok."

"That's all you wanted to ask?"

"Umm… Syaoran… I just wanted… t-to tell you… I-it's just… I couldn't for so long…" Sakura began to freeze up. "For such a long time… I-I wanted to tell you…" Tears began to stream down her face. "_JUST TELL HIM!!_" She felt her conscious yelling at her.

"Syaoran… I-I lo-love you…" Sakura stopped breathing and turned her eyes away from his. She felt so embarrassed and her heart began pounding harder than ever. She couldn't tell if it was going really fast or really slow. Her face felt as if it was on fire and her knees began to shake and threatened to give away. And then she felt herself being brought closer to Syaoran, and found her lips with his, her body being pulled towards his, warmth extending as she got closer and closer. He pushed forward, trying to get deeper and deeper, Sakura let out an soft and innocent moan, but she felt the tears from her eyes to her cheeks, and surprisingly, found tears coming from Syaoran too. His mouth left hers and he brought her head to his chest and rested his head on top of her head.

"Sakura… thank you…" Tears kept coming. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry that it had to be this way…" Together they stayed, feeling the sorrow wash over both of them, realizing that cruel fate had meant it to be like this, without letting the lovers embrace sooner, not letting them share the happiness of life while it lasted. And now they were united as they so longed to be together, but bitterly for a brief moment.

"It's time…" Yue interrupted quietly. Kero also stood by, looking with sorrow.

"_Why did it have to be like this?_" Syaoran felt bitterness build up. "_Now I have to leave… and Sakura will grieve and cry… Will she move on?_" Syaoran knew already the answer to that question. _"I don't want to die now…I don't want to die… _"

"_Then live._" The other Syaoran counseled. "_We all have a right to exist._"

"_I relinquished that right when I sacrificed myself for her._"

"_But you are alive now, and now you have the right to live until the time comes again. These agents are sent by selfish bastards, people who fear you. You're no longer in their power, and now they're going to kill you. Will you let them do that? Because we can kill them… we can destroy them, and let's use our power to do that!_"

"_I don't want to destroy them… I don't want to fight anymore…_"

"_Then fight this one last time, and then you can live in happiness, free from those Angels._" The eyes shown brightly again.

Yue couldn't see Syaoran's eyes or his face, but he knew now that he and Kero were going to have to fight. Syaoran had found a strong will to live and fight.

"_That bitch is the reason why he is going to fight us…_" He thought.

"Kero, don't worry about killing anyone else… we have to bring him down at all costs." A bright light shown at his side, which took the shape of a powerful long-sword. As it materialized, he charged for Syaoran on his wings, yelling a battle-cry to kill him.

Steel met steel, but Syaoran's back was still towards Yue, Hien defending Syaoran's back from the powerful blade as Syaoran's powerful arm resisted the force. Quickly, he turned around and aimed a swift kick to Yue's head, forcing the agent back and bruising his cheek. Syaoran brought Sakura to a fallen pillar.

"Stay here, Sakura." Syaoran turned away and dashed towards Yue, Hien poised for the kill. Yue blocked it and swung around his swords to catch Syaoran on his side, steel clashed with steel again, Syaoran found him being hit with a powerful force. As he allowed it to push him over towards his side, he put his hand on the floor and spun his legs in the air, injuring Yue on his arm and opposite side of his face. Yue fell to the floor and caught Syaoran's blade with both of his hands just in time, but had cut his skin.

"You agents aren't immortal, are you?" Yue nervously held the blade from his face, blood streaming from his hands. As an act of desperation, Yue used his legs to kick himself up, pushing Syaoran away. After ascending into the air, he flew down with his sword aimed at Syaoran.

Too easy, Syaoran thought as he simply sent a slashing force toward the agent. Momentarily disoriented by the force of the blow, he recoiled back, allowing Syaoran to take his advantage and leap into the air, reaching Yue for a close and deadly strike. Poised for the final strike, Syaoran swung… however…

A huge explosion rang in midair where Syaoran was, allowing Yue to escape Syaoran's fearsome strike. Letting out a cry of pain, Syaoran fell hard onto the ground. Kero had some fighting potential himself, it seemed.

"This is bad…" Syaoran muttered to himself. Each second seemed to drain him as he fought to keep his powers active. "I have to end this quickly." Slowly he brought himself into an unusual stance with his sword, his other hand brought up near the tip of the sword, but not quite, as if he were holding a pool table stick. Hien began to glow in a golden light, its surface heating up greatly and started to burn away Syaoran's hands. Without warning, he thrust the sword out straight towards Yue. At first it seemed that action had done nothing, until Yue suddenly gasped, soon silenced as a huge explosion erupted around him. After lying on the ground, he struggled to lift himself up, but could not. By then, Syaoran retracted Hien back to his stance and thrust once more at Kero, leaving the same effect only this time without a moment's pause before the explosion.

Syaoran depended on his sword for support. Those two blasts had drained him of his little energy, yet he managed to defeat his opponents. He felt a surge of relief as he walked towards Yue first. Regret soon came on him as he poised his sword to kill Yue.

Unfortunately for our hapless hero, the gods of luck do not favor him. A surge of lightning erupted from the heavens and, quite simply, struck him down, leaving him gasping in pain. The smell of burnt skin began to fill his nose as the pain of his wounded back quite literally crippled him. Yue and Kero struggled to their feet. Two entities joined them from above, however their brilliance of their auras hid their faces.

"You have disgraced us, Yue…" One of the two stated plainly

"I apologize… However the boy is insistent and continuing in his struggle to live."

"Then you should have analyzed and eliminated the main factor of his morale!" The other angrily rebuked. "Nevertheless, we shall take the matters into our hands." He lifted his hand and aimed it at Sakura.

"It is unfortunate that your fate had to be entwined with the boy you happen to love. We ask you for forgiveness for this is the only way we can ensure stability and peace." Sakura felt hopelessness swallow her, and simply sat rooted to the spot. Scorched flesh let out its odor once more, but the absence of the pain gave Sakura the impression that she hadn't been hit. Curiously she looked up and saw Syaoran in front of her. He had taken the hit straightforward, his back turned to Sakura. Weakly, he stumbled next to her, exhausted and drained.

What could they do? Trapped and helpless, Sakura and Syaoran both began to despair. The entities closing in for the kill, a final act of desperation took over Syaoran as he struggled to bring himself together and drain the last of his strength. Swiftly and unexpectedly, he grabbed Sakura and made a run for it, leaving the palace with a speed and strength that was utterly impossible in Syaoran's state.

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Safe from the threatening entities, Syaoran finally stopped at a remote cave, quite a distance from the city. Weak with pain and despair, he collapsed next to Sakura, barely able to move, tears streaming from his face as he looked up into those sweet emerald eyes.

"Syaoran…" She put her hand at his cheek, unable to stop her own tears. There they were, just two kids desperately in love, both clinging desperately to life in hopes of tempting the nonexistent happiness to descend on them. Sitting up against the wall, Syaoran held her in his arms, embracing her loveliness and waiting for the imminent doom, or perhaps to escape it.

"It's not fair…" Sakura didn't sound as though complaining, but rather mourning. "Why… why did I have to remember now? Why do they have to take you away?"

"I'm sorry, Sakura… I hoped to save you so you could enjoy your life at the cost of mine…"

"I'd rather die with you, than live without you, Syaoran…" Tears wouldn't stop, but neither had to intention of ending their hearts' emotions. Still in each other's arms, still weeping out their hearts, they waited.

An explosion of radiance erupted on the ceiling above them, vaporizing the darkness of the cave and revealing them to the sky above. Yue had a face of triumph, soon erased as he saw the two lovers embracing each other, crying in despair and for the loss of their right to happiness. The other two entities and Kero joined him and landed near Sakura and Syaoran. Before saying a word, Sakura began her desperate request.

"Please… can't you let us be happy together? He's gone through so much… even death… He's never wrong anyone… or been unjust… please, I'm begging you to spare us… please let us be happy…" She struggled to say the words, tears kept coming. "If you can't… please, let us be together for eternity… if not this world… then the next…" Still with tears in her eyes, she brought her lips with Syaoran's, a sense of finality not missed as they embraced, feeling as if it was the last time they would enjoy earthly intimacy.

And there the agents stood with the light, troubled, yet firm with resolution to execute their orders. Though doubt remained, thus they stood, conflicted with pity and yet justice and desire for stability. Innocent and hapless lovers… should they live and enjoy the happiness they so desire and deserve, or should they die as martyrs, sacrifices for the dimensions of people to whom they are unknown?

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Iroel's Note: Oh jeez… it's taken a REALLY long time to finish this chapter… but as usual I can promise you that I'll still be working on it. I've just been sidetracked with other personal affairs. So don't expect new chapters too often  Dun duh duh dun… suspense, will they die or live???


	12. Delusional: Elusive Happiness

**Chapter 12: Elusive Happiness**

Iroel's Note: Success! I didn't slack off and finished this chapter on time! Haha, I hope I didn't make anyone mad by not posting chapters for that long moment! Gomen T-T forgiiive me.

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Chapitre douze: _Bonheur insaisissable_  


The ground was wet with the innumerable tears. The two lovers clung to each other; too many emotions grasping their hearts that both felt their hearts would tear and shatter if such feelings held so tight. Who could watch without experiencing such sadness themselves? The boy had taken so much pain, so much sorrow. He seemed ravaged and broken, ultimately changed forever through the experiences which love had put him through. And now, all which waited him was the eternal and cold darkness of death. The girl, so innocent she seemed, yet guilty of her own crime of capturing such boy's heart with utter dominance though also was her heart a victim of this… Tears kept falling, they held tighter still to each other, embracing the softness and comfort felt from their act of love. Sakura lifted her eyes to Syaoran's, the feeling was unbearable. The pain and sorrow, it was too much, their lives to be taken away unjustly, a reward for their hard troubles and labors. Away from the couple, the agents retreated to consult the matter.

"How can one have the heart to kill these two?" Kero seemed very deeply moved.

"We must give attention to the matter of power…"

"We will be punished if we do not proceed."

"They have a right to live and pursue happiness… I feel unjustified to take their lives."

"Do you think that happiness is indeed what waits for them?!"

"I cannot foresee it… however we must allow them to do as they wish… Have they not earned such right?"

"No, the boy will be a threat if he were allowed to live…"

"Yet the girl would take her own life without him…"

"Do you not know the consequences if we were to allow them to live!? The boy now possesses the Tsubasa! We cannot allow him outside our power!"

"Then keep him in our power, but let him live."

"Do you honestly trust the boy to stay within our control if we allow him to live!?"

"Indeed. He would be very willing to do anything to cling onto his life for the girl."

"I do not trust him…"

"Have pity… then perhaps you will be moved to my decision."

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Sakura and Syaoran still held together. Syaoran looked into her eyes, finding much comfort, yet sadness knowing that those eyes may be extinguished.

"Sakura… I love you too much… to let you die…" His eyes started to droop as fatigue still crept up on him.

"If they decide to kill us… Don't ever let go of me, Syaoran…" Her sweet chocolate hair brushed up against him, resting on his chest. "Don't ever let go… I spent too much time away from your embrace… I don't want to die without it…" Sleepiness started to capture her as well.

"Let's hope that we wake up on this earth, still together." He rested his head on the top of hers, softness comforted him little, but he felt happy being in her embrace. And slowly, their eyes closed and welcomed the long-expected rest.

"…I love you… Syaoran…" Her soft and innocent voice faded.

The agents watched sadly as the two lovers drifted into deep sleep, still holding tight to each other. They looked happy, united and together after being apart in heart and body. Yue approached them, his sword ready. He prepared to kill both lovers, but the sorrow was not absent from his eyes.

"I await the final decision…" He stated blatantly.

"Very well… our decision for the boy and girl is…"

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It was too comfortable to wake up. It felt so smooth and soft, too much comfort and happiness to leave. Still tired and yearning for more rest, they snuggled and cuddled up more. It was such a sweet scent and feeling that they both felt it impossible to wish to get up and leave. Syaoran woke with a start, feeling happier than he had ever been in his life and opening his eyes slowly and sleepily. Slowly, he adjusted himself to sit up a bit more, finding Sakura closely cuddled to his chest.

"She's so cute…" He felt warmth take over his heart and felt that he was going to melt if he kept looking at her. Sakura rolled around more and more, snuggling up closer and closer to Syaoran. She brought herself unconsciously to Syaoran's shoulder. Suddenly, her hands wrapped behind Syaoran's head and brought his lips with hers. Apparently Sakura wasn't as unconscious as Syaoran thought. Pulling away, Sakura grinned and blushed at her bold move.

"Good mooooorning, Syaoran!" Playfully, she laid him back down onto the bed and went on top of him, looking down and smiling in dominance. With a laugh, Syaoran tickled her and played around to tease her, messing up the bed quite well. Laughing, Sakura squirmed around trying to avoid those fingers, playfully kissing Syaoran on the cheek when she felt it was safe to go offensive. Dead or alive, neither one seemed to care. Too happy and careless to pay attention to anything else around them, they continued on their little fun… Until…

"Hey, twerp, what the hell do you think you're doing with my sister!?" Toya looked very angry at the couple. Sakura was on top of Syaoran's back, her hand still on his hair, which explained why it was so rumpled up. Of course, Toya wasn't exactly mad at that little fact, more importantly he seemed to notice that both lovers' clothes were hanging quite loosely and Syaoran's hands reaching behind his back, dangerously near Sakura's lower…

"Hyuh, what a cute couple!" Fai joined in the room to simply grin at Sakura and Syaoran. The couple immediately disengaged and fixed themselves up to look perfectly normal. Kurogane, Mokona, and Yukito all entered to room, apparently to have a serious talk.

"Do you remember anything after you two fell asleep at the cave?" Kurogane inquired. The two simply shook their heads, realizing that this wasn't a dream (they pinched each other secretly) and looked as confused as everyone else.

"Well, after a few hours, those guys came back with both of you in their arms and just dropped you guys down in the throne room. They didn't say a word and simply left." Fai looked a bit troubled, but as usual, wasn't looking very serious. "Hmm… I wonder…" Syaoran and Sakura had looks of confusion.

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"_Have pity… then perhaps you will be moved to my decision."_

"_Pity is for the weak and helpless." Yue refuted back._

"_And so shall they gain pity. They are not at fault, and nor are we. Thus they are helpless." One of the entities spoke._

"_What do you mean by that?" Kero inquired._

"_Perhaps there are more forces acting upon the boy than we had thought... After all, why did the boy not die after his attempt to destroy the Tsubasa?"_

"_Who else would have such power...? Fei Wang Reed isn't strong enough from his world to do such things…"_

"_Let them live… I believe it is time to visit the Death God, Invernio… He did after all…"_

"_Let us speak of this matter no more…"_

"_I await the final decision…" Yue had stood ready by Sakura and Syaoran for the decision and to stand guard._

"_Very well… Our decision for the boy and girl… is to spare them… The true culprit and power which we must now investigate is Invernio… I believe we shall find answers with him… Take the couple to the palace…" All of the entities departed… except for Kero. Before flying off however, he heard a voice from the darkness._

"_Going off to see old Invernio, ey?" Kero revolted in shock, fearing it may be who he thought it may be._

"_I'm not going to kill you, Kero… I just came to talk."_

"_How long have you been watching…?"_

"_Oh quite a while now… Syaoran interested me greatly with his fights and actions. Never thought he'd be the way he is today…"_

"_Why have you come here? This war is none of your concern…"_

"_On the contrary, Kero, this war is the very reason I lead this miserable existence." The voice laughed with cruelty. "There is much to do, my friend, before this is over… And it shall be **I** who ends it… No one else has more right to the vengeance that is yet to come…" A figure came into view,, an enormous cloak of impenetrable darkness shrouded him and kept his face and form secret._

"_Can you not abandon this vengeance? I can only foresee much death and destruction from this…"_

"_No… The Li family had suffered too much, and we could not even save ourselves… Not even my salvation was achieved through our power… and for what!? Do you not see the scars that have wounded me, Kero? DO YOU NOT SEE THE PAINS WHICH HAVE BEEN DEALT!?" His words echoed and rumbled the mountainside. "No…" He seemed to have calmed down more, "This war shall end… and I shall use those I wish to use to my advantage..." He looked towards Sakura and Syaoran. "Do not interfere… or Fei Reed shall not be the only one who shall suffer my wrath…" A spike of fear ran through Kero._

"_Please… Leave Sakura and Syaoran alone… They deserve a long-awaited break and happiness as well... Don't take that happiness from them…"_

"_It is useless…" The figure seemed sympathetic now, "Despite whatever anyone does, that boy will go through much hardship in his life… more than anyone should. 'Cursed is he, who uses my power, the price of which he must pay for eyes surpassed by none other… This curse shall live among your descendents… and the ones they hold dearest to their hearts as well shall fall beneath this adversity.' There is no happiness which awaits those of the Li family… My foolish ancestor has seen to that… And unfortunately, though Syaoran is not naturally of our family, the blood of my dear parents runs through him… Thus there will be blood shed… There will be regret and sorrow to pay, and so I will give him the option of saving the girl… There is still time for her at least…"_

"_What will you do with Syaoran?"_

"_It is time he learns of the crimes and horrors committed for his existence… And then he shall pay retribution for those crimes and horrors."_

"_You cannot arbitrarily determine that!"_

"_Oh no, I wouldn't dream of forcing it on him… Syaoran's conscious is built too conveniently for my purposes to have me do anything but merely tell him…"_

"_I can only foresee a dark future…" Kero became troubled._

"_It is not of your concern… It would be best if you and the other agents don't meddle with this war… Allow me to take action myself…"_

"_Do you honestly think the Angels would simply allow this all to happen?"_

"_Indeed… I'm certain they are wise enough to remember my wrath… And they are not… Then there indeed will be hell to pay…" The horrifying darkness passed, and Kero was left alone to ponder._

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_

"Ok, twerp… since your house has been blown up you're living here…" Toya said grumpily, "I have a few strict guidelines and rules that you are to follow, or I'll kick your sorry ass out of the palace, ok?" Syaoran really looked scared.

"One, you stay in your own room at night. No wandering or the guards will spear you, ok?" Syaoran nodded.

"Two, if the palace bell rings, you better be in the damn palace's dining hall or the guards will spear you." The guards behind them gulped.

"Three, hands off my sister or I'll spear you. I don't want to see you two kissing, hugging, or sleeping together. There'll be too much trouble with the other kingdom if that happens." Sakura remembered her engagement.

"Four, you are to stay AWAY from my sister's room or I will spear you." Toya glared at Syaoran.

"But that's going to be hard if my room is right next to your sister's room."

"That doesn't cause you to go inside does it!?" Toya fiercely yelled.

"You meanie! Stop threatening poor Syaoran like that, you didn't threaten the other nobles with spears when you administered your codes." Sakura playfully grabbed Syaoran's hand as she came up from behind him.

"What did I say twerp!?" Toya made a grab for his sword. Sakura grinned sinisterly as she pointed out that Toya's sword was stashed away in the armory. In defiance, she gave Syaoran a sweet kiss on the lips and held it until Toya rampaged at them, forcing them to flee.

"Onii-sama! You meanie!" Sakura dashed off with Syaoran out of the palace towards the city.

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After a long time of running and turning corners, they stopped at an isolated spot near the end of the city. No one ever came that way. Sakura evidently knew this as she threw herself on Syaoran and kissed him deeply. Wrapping his arms around Sakura, Syaoran hugged her tightly and enjoyed the sweet embrace. Syaoran's mind went blank for a moment, wondering what he must have done to deserve this happiness and pleasure. She was too cute, too soft, and too sweet for him, he felt that he didn't deserve this. Pulling away from her mouth, Syaoran started to tickle her and tease her, playfully enjoying the moment as Sakura laughed and squirmed.

Neither one of them seemed to notice an extremely dark and hooded figure watching them. Only the lower part of his face was visible, and with a smirk, he vanished.

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Iroel's Note: Waah wut a cute couple. and now onto the next chapter! O.o that's a lot of spears .


	13. Never Ending: Luckless Syaoran

**Chapter 13: Luckless Syaoran**

Iroel's note: Once again I am late with this chapter. Much apologies, my internet hasn't been working lately so…Also, I find it very depressing about how much the actual story of Tsubasa changes T-T so I am trying to correct my future works to utilize the characteristics or sometimes if possible the events of the current chapters I'm reading (volume 18ish I think).

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Chapitre treize: Syaoran infortunée

It was getting darker and colder, Syaoran and Sakura spent most of the day simply resting in their small secluded corner. Snuggling up closer, Sakura hardly noticed the cold. Happiness was too short, regret and sadness began to pour in as Syaoran looked on his sweet lover and remembered his own crimes. Blood seemed to stain his hands in Syaoran's eyes, and the face of his foster-father and Clow became imprinted into his thoughts. He gently brushed off Sakura from on top of him and stood up.

"Syaoran…" Sakura was troubled at Syaoran's sudden movement. "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking… I'm so sorry Sakura… but it's better if this didn't happen…" Syaoran felt the heavy guilt build up on him, realizing the irony of his love with the daughter of a victim.

"Syaoran, I don't understand and I don't really care, because all I want to do is be with you…" Sakura felt hurt that Syaoran even mentioned that they shouldn't be together.

"Why don't you hate me? You've seen what I've done and what I'm capable of…"

"All I've seen you do and know what you're capable of is being a loving, caring and sweet person, Syaoran. You've always been there for me and my people. You even sacrificed your life, Syaoran…"

"But I've killed your father… I killed my own father… I murdered entire battalions of those soldiers…"

"None of that was your fault, Syaoran…" Sakura looked sadder and sadder.

"But what will the people think? What will they do?"

"Syaoran…" Sakura began to cry slowly, "Do you care more about what the people think than what I think?" She went over to hug him closely. Syaoran felt worse and realized how insensitive his words were.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura… I just don't want you to suffer so much. I don't want you to feel guilt or pain from being with me…"

"It's too late for that, Syaoran." Sakura brushed away her tears. "I'm not leaving you just because it hurts or because the people might turn against me. All the pains you took and all the things you've done already hurt me. I'm not leaving you after all that. Love is always painful, isn't it? So what does it matter that I take that stuff every now and then? I don't mind."

"Sakura…" Syaoran was moved deeply and found it hard to argue against her. "When'd you become so good at this?" Sakura just smiled.

"It pays off to have an older brother to yell at." Syaoran laughed as Sakura cuddled herself closer to him, enjoying the warm embrace.

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"Do you have anything to say, Invernio?" Kero inquired.

"Of course I have much to say, Kero. For one, I would like to say how foolish and ridiculous you agents are for coming down here to see me. Then I would like to say what a dreary day it is. I would then add with my comment that I am very bored today. And finally I end with my statement that I have nothing useful to tell you."

"Enough with your blatant comments tell us what you've done to the Li boy." Yue angrily demanded.

"Patience, young one, what makes you think I had any part in this?"

"The dead do not simply rise from the spirit world, ever. Obviously, we have but to question the God of Death, do we not?"

"Well met indeed… However, I would defend myself and say that I had no part in the boy's resurrection. I point indictment to a different entity."

"And who else would have such power to bring that boy alive?"

"You agents are so blinded by your power and your "blessed" angels that you forget what other things are out there, more specifically, He who is above the power of your Angels."

"Why would the Father interfere with this?"

"Why would he not? It's obvious who you are dealing with and who else is involved in the war." A chill ran down Kero's spine as he remembered his meeting earlier.

"You seem to come across knowledge unknown to us. Please tell us important details." Kero requested.

"Since you asked so nicely, I will." The death god smirked. "Right now, as you all know, there is a great war going on. Between whom I cannot say, and neither can anyone else in existence but He alone. What I can say is that another party is about to be pulled into this powerful war. And by which entity they are to be manipulated by is unknown. However, it seems that a friend of yours is moving into that seat of control, Kero." Invernio cast Kero a knowledgeable look.

"What is he talking about, Kero?"

"I encountered the dark one… the 'Angel of Fear' as he is commonly known."

"Angel?! Are you to tell me he has that much power?"

"No… it is simply a title which he has adopted. However, I will say that he surpasses any agent of the Angels… Perhaps even rival to the power of the Angels themselves."

"All this is lovely, however I must continue." Invernio interrupted. "Syaoran and Sakura are about to enter another stage of their life which is going to simply add to everything they've been through." Kero looked alarmed. "It is the curse of the family which I granted power to: 'He who uses my power is cursed with the adversities unknown and known. Those whom that man holds dear in his heart are subject to this curse as well'."

"Impossible. Syaoran is not a part of that bloodline. Neither is Sakura."

"Ah, but you forget Syaoran's origins, Yue. Or shall I remind you of the fateful project of Fei's?" Yue looked horrified. "Indeed. So, as I was saying, Syaoran and Sakura are subject to the pains of their surroundings, added with the pains of their relationship and the trouble that might cause." Invernio grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, now that the people know how their king and archeologist were killed, public sentiment to Syaoran is not looking very good, is it? Let's also remember the Eriol Hikari boy. Notice that he has taken quite an interest in our cute and innocent little princess. In this sense, he's changed his mind and will do everything to gain her as his bride. He has the power to cause war between the two countries as well. The king of that country wouldn't be too happy if he found out that his to-be daughter-in-law is making out with an archeologist."

"I guess that was expected. But what do you mean about the pains of their relationship?"

"Well, Syaoran and Sakura haven't even turned sixteen yet, have they? They're certainly subject to all _those_ adolescent feelings: depression, heartaches, anger, insecurity, jealousy. Oh, and I almost forgot, _lust_." Invernio put very careful emphasis on that word. "Curiosity is indeed a very, very fatal flaw of Syaoran's…" Invernio grinned. "But aside from that, let's not forget that Fei is going to target the couple and Syaoran'll be doing a lot more slicing and a lot less fu-"

"They'll overcome all odds." Yue interrupted. "The high priest's predictions have never been wrong. They're destined to be together and happy by overcoming all odds together."

"Whatever you say," Invernio grinned. "Don't forget that prediction didn't mention in which life they'll be happy and together in."

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Syaoran and Sakura walked back to the castle slowly, enjoying the time and warmth from being with each other. Sakura huddled next to Syaoran, Syaoran's arm wrapped around her at her shoulder. Sleepily, Sakura rested her head on Syaoran's shoulder.

"Hey hey, don't sleep now." Syaoran teased. "We're not even near the castle." Sakura grinned sleepily.

"Syao-chaaan," Sakura teased back, "carry me back to my castle." Syaoran was seriously considering holding Sakura up in his arms, before a brick narrowly missed his head.

"Stay away from the princess you vermin!" A townsman yelled. Other citizens gathered in closer, ready to attack Syaoran.

"How dare you show your face in public!"

"We'll never forgive the murderer of our king!"

"Leave our country at once!" This time stones flew at Syaoran, some poorly aimed, hitting bags of dust, blinding the people to Syaoran. Quickly and stealthily, Syaoran and Sakura slipped through the distraction and made their way to the castle.

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"Syaoran…" The two were in the castle alone, away from the guards and king. "Why can't we be allowed to be with each other?" Sakura voice became shaky.

"I guess I must be a really bad person inside…" Syaoran brushed back on his other self.

_"Why are you blaming me? It's not my fault your life is so crappy."_

_"Did I say I was blaming you?"_

"Syaoran, why do you look so annoyed?" Sakura looked curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Syaoran was going to pretend his other self didn't exist.

"What the hell did you two do!?" Toya stopped them before they could retreat to their rooms.

"We didn't do anything!" Sakura hid behind Syaoran, "I promise! We didn't steal food from the kitchen this time!"

"I'm not talking about food right now (even though I KNOW you brats stole some food before you ran away) the people are crying out for Syaoran's head…"

"They're still out there?" Syaoran looked downcast.

"Yeah, and apparently they want revenge for their dead king and soldiers…"

"You can't blame them…" Syaoran looked a bit teary eyed.

"Well from now on, stay inside the castle until I can calm the people… Sakura is free to do as she wants, but be warned that the people's gentle and understanding sentiment is rapidly fading." Toya looked back at a large clock. "Go to sleep you two…" Toya looked very angry suddenly, "SEPARATELY!" he added as he eyed Syaoran's arm around Sakura's shoulder. "I need to talk to you, kid."

"Why?" Syaoran looked puzzled. Sakura hurrily ran to her room.

"Well because of a bit of this and a bit of that." Fai appeared suddenly, looking very cheerful.

"I don't see why I should be here." Kurogane looked very grumpy.

"Kid, are you aware that my sister is engaged right now?"

"No!" Syaoran blanched.

"I should've mentioned this to you earlier then, but currently, Eriol Hikari of a neighboring country has been arranged to marry my sister…" Toya looked regretful.

"I imagine that a lot of trouble will go on if they were to find out Syaoran's relationship." Fai was still oddly cheerful.

"Right now, my people are tired. They're angry and they're hungry, but they still trust their king and nobles who work hard to find a way through this mess… The last thing they need is another massive dispute, much less a full-scale war with one of the most impressive nations in this world." Toya looked around his ruined throne. "I never was really bothered with you being friends with Sakura, more or less close friends. I've been annoyed and all, but I have to say that I'm sorry. You'll have to let her go… I'm asking you this for my people." Syaoran felt rooted to the spot, standing there without knowing what to say.

"Go to sleep, kid… 'nd cheer up… We'll talk tomorrow." Kurogane patted Syaoran's head. Slowly, his chocolate hair disappeared from sight as he turned and went into the hallway.

"Hyuh, I feel really bad for Syaoran-kun…" Fai seemed more serious now. "Never really had much of Sakura-chan's good luck, did he?"

"You can't say, y'know? Her good luck might just become his good luck…" Kurogane seemed to have a look of pity for the briefest moment. Toya stayed silent.

Sakura felt cold and shaken in her room, overhearing the conversation. The reality brought her crashing down as she realized her future and the end of her dream. Her cheeks felt wet again.

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"More tears than kisses…" Sakura mused to herself quietly, touching her lips with her delicate fingers, thinking of how she longed for the feeling again. Tears streamed faster as she leaned against the wall.

Similarly, on the other side, Syaoran was resting against his side of the wall; his hands covered his face, but failed to stop the ground from wetting with his tears.

"Help me..." He couldn't stop from clutching his chest in pain. A massive ache and cavity in his heart realized by his own rude awakening to reality.

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Iroel's note: Success! I have managed to complete my dedication and at least post up another chapter TT well, my summer's coming up soon, homework is getting lighter, so I'm bound to post updates a lot faster now. Hope for the best, 'nd much thanks to my readers for having the patience to read this fanfic.


	14. WtF Isn't Enough: Divine Intervention

**Chapter 14: Divine Intervention**

Iroel's Note: Wsup? I hope you're just as confused as I am about why this chapter's titled as it is .

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_Chapitre Quatorze_: Intervention Divine

"Where is she headed!?" Fei demanded violently. It was a surprising characteristic no one had ever seen in Fei.

"I'm sorry, Fei-sama, but I cannot track her down, she's traversing much too fast." An assistant crumbled in fear that Fei may unleash his anger upon him. With a calming sigh, Fei sat back down in his chair and regained his composure.

"Plan another attack on the kingdom of Clow, it's the most likely location… Instruct the soldiers to use any means necessary to "persuade" her into following them."

"Fei-sama, one of the concerns I have is that the soldiers may be unable to bring her to this world." The assistant felt it was wise to inform all possible mistakes.

"No matter, they shall conduct the experiment there. Afterwards, they may dispose of her, or do as they please." Fei looked on his monitor with a cold face. Undistinguishable symbols appeared on the screen, evidently showing a sign of confusion and error.

"It won't be easy, Fei-sama."

"You have your orders. Make them work, or else." Fei gave him a cold hard look.

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Syaoran's cheeks felt cold as he lay in his small lonely bed. He never felt so heartbroken nor helpless, unable to so much as bring himself to sit up. Desperately, he wished that there was something warm he could hug; something to kill the loneliness. Suddenly, he found his wish answered as he felt a warm and soft feeling cuddle up to his chest. Sakura found her way into his room, and gently rested herself on him, crying softly in the dark.

"Sakura…" Syaoran found it hard to find words, "I don't know what to do…" Sakura looked into Syaoran's eyes. He looked on her lips and longed to kiss them again, but the aching was almost paralyzing. Without a word, Sakura closed her eyes, as did Syaoran, in hopes of forgetting the whole thing.

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"Mmm, something doesn't feel right, Kuro-puu." Fai broke the silence at the table.

"Yea, I feel something too (when will you get my names right!?)"

"It feels like something's coming, fast." Kurogane took up his sword and tied it by his side.

"Let's go…" Kurogane headed towards the front entrance.

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A brilliant stream of light erupted from the sky and headed towards the Kingdom of Clow. Its force was brilliant and powerful, threatening to destroy the palace if that is indeed where it was headed. Though it landed out of harm's way in the sand dunes outside the kingdom, the impact crater was enormous, mirroring the speed and strength of the arrival. Kurogane and Fai arrived at the site, only to be intercepted by many pitch-black soldiers.

"Use some of the men to stop the two while the rest of you go and retrieve her from the epicenter." Fei ordered through the comm. device in a soldier. A huge majority followed orders as Kurogane and Fai combated the remaining.

"Oy, go and stop them from whatever they're trying to do." Kurogane instructed Fai. This was unnecessary however, as a massive energy shield shot back the soldiers from the center. The fight lasted for a while until all soldiers remained dead and answered the mechanism that empowered them and vanished. A bit relieved, Kurogane put away his weapon as Fai sat down on the sand, only to be startled as someone behind him spoke.

"Fei Wong Reed underestimates me too much…" The voice sounded a bit disappointed and offended. Kurogane turned around and blanched.

"Tomoyo-hime!?"

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Dun dun dun!!! .

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"Hello, Kurogane." Tomoyo smiled.

"You called me by name… Are you really Tomoyo-hime?" Kurogane was careful now.

"It may be hard to believe, but I'm also the same Tomoyo from the Piffle World." Tomoyo cheerfully added.

"Would you please explain to us at the castle?" Fai interrupted with the obvious situation being that they should not linger out in the desert.

"Well, I have business at the castle anyway. Please take me to Toya-ou."

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"Interesting…" Yukito was questioning Tomoyo. "It was amazing enough that Syaoran-kun managed to come back from the dead. But now Tomoyo-hime here seems to be the very one that Kurogane-san knows, even though she was killed."

"It's very complicated to explain specifics (as well as dangerous) seeing as I've accomplished a process which Fei absolutely needs for his plan." Tomoyo looked embarrassed from her moment of conceitedness.

"And how do you figure that?" Toya replied.

"I did not come back from the dead. That is nigh impossible. What really happened was a powerful process of inter-dimensional fusion. In short, what happened was I, the Tomoyo from Kurogane's world, fused my conscience with all the other Tomoyo's from the other worlds. Then, I simply took the combined conscience and put them into the body of the Piffle World Tomoyo. After this, there are no longer ANY Tomoyo's in any other dimension."

"I see… But what does that have to do with Fei Reed's plans?"

"Fei Reed has an ambitious dream, one that your father failed before he did. What he required was a 'body' which would remember any world that it went to. In this case, Sakura was the 'body' of the Tsubasa, serving the purpose of remembering every single world you guys went to, even if she herself can't. I will tell you now, even though I do not know the ambition mysef, that the first step alone is impossible. There are an infinite number of worlds which he cannot hope to have Sakura travel to, even if her fragmented memory was as numerous as you yourselves have found." Tomoyo turned to Kurogane and Fai.

"So where do you come in as?"

"Merely as a requirement for the first step. You see, I am a product of a fusion of those infinite worlds. If he can somehow use my conscience and Sakura's power, he'd have the infinite worlds under memory. That is how the FIRST step is possible."

"Then what is the next?" Fai wondered.

"The Tsubasa's power itself is the next step."

"But its only power is to travel different worlds. He already has that power." Kurogane replied.

"Ah, but you see, that isn't the only thing the Tsubasa can do; it has the power to traverse time itself." A shocked silence ran through everyone. "I must warn Sakura and Syaoran, bearers of the Tsubasa, to NEVER try this. This process is much too dangerous. The only safety in using the Tsubasa for time is to simply observe the past... never to enter it. Such law has been broken before… the punishment was too harsh for any man to undergo it…" Tomoyo looked downcast in memory.

"What about observing the future?" Fai inquired.

"Impossible. Prediction of the future itself is too difficult. The Dimension Witch, Yuuko, is a fortune-teller… however such fortunes cannot predict the major outcomes of the variable human nature. This variable is the reason why there are so many universes. Some are in exact parallel with ours, others are completely different. There is a universe where Sakura never left this world. There is one where she was killed. There is a universe where she was just born. And of course, a universe where she marries Syaoran-kun." Tomoyo grinned as Toya's temper spiked up. "It's all very confusing, but I must add that universes that involved me as a primary factor no longer exist except in this universe."

Yukito, Kurogane, Toya, and Fai were all very confused but managed to at least understand some of what Tomoyo was saying.

"One question, Tomoyo-hime, why is it that your behavior is the same as the one we knew at the Piffle world and in Kurogane's world?" Fai questioned.

"Put very simply, I chose those behaviors. Things such as these are dependent on the person's will. To stop further questions, please don't ask how I know these things… I think my speech has made it clear enough what my experience is."

"You're free to choose out any room of this palace that isn't taken, Tomoyo-hime. Sakura and the brat are asleep right now; you can talk to them in the morning." Toya offered his manners to Tomoyo.

"Thank you."

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In the dusty plains, the lieutenant stood, horrified at his failure, but felt that it was inevitable. What would he and his remaining soldiers do now? If he returned, Fei would murder them. If not, the soldiers of Clow would fight them. He stood there pondering, his men nursing their wounds. A horrifying and desolate darkness soon swept into their presence. The lieutenant never felt anything like this before. Suddenly weak, he vomited. His soldiers were close to fainting at the mere presence. Fear unlike any other they had ever experienced gripped them and rooted them to the spot. They could not even scream.

"Why are you here?" It demanded. The soldiers could not even talk. "**ANSWER ME!**" the command was so threatening and frightening; some of the soldiers would've died of fright and shock. "Very well…" Suddenly the darkness was gone, and in its place, a black-cloaked figure stood. "Perhaps now you have enough wit to answer me?"

"We c-came with o-orders from F-Fei…" The lieutenant found enough energy to answer.

"What were those orders?" The figure demanded.

"W-we were to seize T-Tomoyo-hime…"

"Evidently you failed… Why are you still here?"

"I-I cannot bring myself back to Fei…"

"Do you fear him that much?"

"H-Hai…"

"You have served your purpose… Regretfully for you and your men, Fei will not kill you… I, sworn enemy of that monster, will destroy you." The darkness returned with even greater fear cast upon the men. The lieutenant desperately tried to activate his device.

With a swift motion, the lieutenant's hands were decapitated. With a whirlwind of motion, a dark and terrible blade swung and mutilated the poor man and ripped him apart, blood raining down on the other men. His howls of pain and torment were deafening, but the sound did not carry to the kingdom of Clow. One by one, each soldier fell to the same horrifying and painful death. The carnage would have been discovered in the morning, it was impossible for the guards to miss so much blood. Slowly, with his hand raised, the Angel of Fear muttered something inconceivable, the sand moved as though alive and swallowed blood, limbs, and bones all together.

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Syaoran and Sakura woke with a jolt. Both were puzzled and a bit annoyed that something, just something, had woken them both up. Too sleepy and blurred to look around, they both fell back lazily trying to drift back to sleep. They heard a playful "tsk, tsk" in the room somewhere and suddenly woke up in fright.

"You two would be in sooo much trouble if Toya-ou found u like that together. You two aren't even married yet!!" Sakura and Syaoran felt a bit shocked.

"Tomoyo-hime!?" They both exclaimed.

"Hurry up and run along away from this room Syao-kun, or Toya-sama will 'spear you'." She had a very playful and teasing look on her face. Syaoran dashed out of the room, a look of bewilderment and utter confusion was not amiss.

"Tomoyo-chan… How are you—Why are you…?" Sakura was lost for questions.

"I'll just say that I'm the same Tomoyo from Piffle and Kurogane's world" She grinned. "Don't ask any questions about it or I'll give you a very, very big headache."

"How did you— OWW." Sakura clutched her head and rolled around on her bed. Poor Sakura was so confused at what caused the pain at the same time wondering about Tomoyo's mysterious appearance.

"Told'ya I'd give you a big headache." Tomoyo grinned. "C'mon, let's go get breakfast." Tomoyo looked down at a very woozy Sakura. Very quickly, she maneuvered Sakura around and suddenly Sakura found herself very confused and in a very skimpy outfit. It wasn't any different to Sakura that a portion of her belly was revealed, as her usual princess outfit did, but the skirt was VERY short, and the upper body was sleeveless.

"I'm pretty sure none of the men will object to the way you look. Your brother might actually tease you about it. But don't worry, no one will punish you. You are the princess after all." Tomoyo grinned at a still-confused Sakura. Tomoyo brought up a body-sized mirror in front of Sakura. "C'mon, let's go eat"

"WAAAH! Tomoyo-chan, I can't go to breakfast looking like this!"

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Iroel's Note: Yeeea, I decided to end this chapter with a very playful ending. Sorry for the lateness though. Most likely I will take even longer for the next chapter (I'll be at Korea for the next 3 weeks). Hope I meet some crazy Krn Bboys .


	15. Can there be no peace?: The Stranger

**Chapter 15: The Stranger**

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**

_Chapitre Quinze_: L'Etranger

It was quite an awkward period of time, yet it was probably as normal as it would get for Sakura and Syaoran. The feelings of eminent destruction and inevitable warfare seemed to have vanished and been replaced by a sleepy silence as the Kingdom of Clow entered springtime; well, if you don't count Toya's constant and rude remarks at the couple and screaming for bloody murder every time he saw the couple together. Kurogane seemed either bored or content with his life at Clow. Fai had taken to finding various and random endeavors each day. Tomoyo, of course, was always teasing or rambling on about Sakura's cuteness or how Syaoran held his dear lover in his arms (Syaoran found this quite pressing on his patience). The citizens were calmed, and of course, reminded of Syaoran's goodness and well-meaning. The hatred evaporated little by little, but was never fully forgotten. No matter, Love was Bliss.

Peaceful times in Clow? Oh, the irony. The endless screams of the multitudes of tormented workers in a dimension far away seemed to serve as the chorus of the damned. Machines of war raged on, for profit, for gain, all for Fei Wong Reed. Always scheming, always ordering. Assistants at his side felt Death's presence every time they entered the room. Fei was not pleased, as tyrants usually are when their patience is tested. But always is fear is present in such cold-hearted men. Control at their fingertips, the oppressed at their tongue, only to fear an uprising, only to fear the eminent savior of the weak… or perhaps tyrant. Once again the gears of war set themselves in motion. War was at hand, whether the Kingdom of Clow realized it or not, war was at hand.

Restless times for Fei Reed. Indeed so for the "other" end. Claiming virtue, claiming goodness they toil. They fight for the Father, as they say. Who is the Father? One can only ask. I myself doubt even the Angels can answer that for themselves. Self-righteous beings they are, so much that they have truly forgotten the meaning of their fight, only able to see the meaning of stability; simply put, their power, their control. All to be tested as war was at hand. Kero and Yue strived to continue, strived to fight for their noble reason. Perhaps they are alone in such a meaningful existence, living to bring peace, hoping to end evil. But evil cannot be ended, merely stalled. Even they too tremble for they see the horizon. Indeed, even the Agents understood, war was at hand.

And through this, the Angel of Fear sat. The Angel of Fear understood. Angel he was not, but Angel he would be. Powerful, wise, and fearless, he sat in muse to his thoughts. Contemplating. Where did he come from? Who was this man truly? Who are his friends and family? Such questions are for another story, one with deeper and more terrible meaning than the plight of the two lovers. Indeed, Tomoyo alone was one who, in Clow, understood and knew. But this is not the time for such a story. That we save for a different time. Here this fearless and powerful man sat, in broad daylight. He was a mysterious stranger to Clow, but not a questionable person to the average citizen. Woe, woe is the lovers who so yearned for peace and yearned for time, perhaps the Devil, if not an Angel, himself has descended upon them, having great haste, for he knows his time is short.

The manager of the small shop in Clow was puzzled. Here a hooded and black-cloaked stranger sat, peacefully (obviously not as aggressive as he was to the soldiers he mercilessly killed; his horrifying darkness was not around him at the moment). He couldn't help feel that this man was hiding something, something horrible. He felt it was best not to question and simply serve the man drinks. He was, after all, extremely polite, yet the manager couldn't help feel a chill coming from the man. Feeling brave, he decided to get friendly.

"Dear Sir, may I ask your name?"

"My name? I am sorry, but it has been so long… please give me a moment." Indeed he was truly contemplating this great mystery. After a moment of searching the annals of his memory, he found what he was looking for.

"Ah yes, you may call me Syn." The manager was doubtful.

"May I ask if you are hesitating to give me a real name?"

"No, I simply spoke to you the truth. That is a name which I had managed to remember through my harsh life…" Syn fell silent. The manager felt the need not to ask any more questions.

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"Waaaaah! Syaoran, it's so hot today." Sakura was leaning on Syaoran for support. This was saying something; Sakura never complained about the heat, and of course Clow was in the middle of a desert.

"Hai!" Syaoran seemed to be playful and teasing today, "We'll stop by this nice shop, sempai!" Ok so he really is playful today…

The two entered the shop, and immediately felt a chill take over them. The extreme heat was forgotten. No one was in the shop except the manager and a mysterious man in a black hooded cloak.

"Welcome, what can I get you?" The manager still hadn't forgotten his manners.

"Two teas please. Iced." Syaoran took a seat by the table next to Syn. Sakura couldn't help but feel anxious about this. The stranger was puzzling to her. She was unable to determine friendly or aggressive.

"An odd thing it is for the princess of any country to spend such a day outside her palace." The stranger spoke. Sakura felt a bit nervous.

"I just thought I'd spend some time away from my brother…"

"And spend more time with your boyfriend here? Just like yesterday?" No aggression was heard, but Sakura felt even more intimidated.

"…Hai… Just like yesterday…" Syaoran looked at the man curiously.

"My name is Syn. Pleased to meet you, Sakura-hime." He turned his concealed face to Syaoran. "Hello, Syaoran." The chocolate-haired boy was alarmed.

"Do I know you?"

"Perhaps, but it would not be in your memory." Only Syn's mouth was visible, and it had turned into a sneer. Syaoran pretended to be more interested in finishing his drink. Sakura felt very confused again and now less scared. Syaoran got up very quickly. Taking Sakura by the hand, he thanked the manager and whispered softly to Sakura that they should leave as soon as possible.

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Outside, it was hot as ever, but Syaoran still felt the chill. He was very nervous. He headed towards the castle. There, he felt, both Sakura and he would be safe.

"Syaoran, why are we going back so early?" Sakura inquired.

"Something doesn't feel right; we should go back as soon as possible."

They reached the bridge to the castle where a beautiful river flowed under. It fenced the castle, but it wasn't a safety measure, Syaoran decided he would pay back the citizens with various projects like these. The river would always be clean, by the grace of the little magic Syaoran could do. It would never evaporate or go warm, but would always be cool and pleasing. Some of the children had taken to swimming in it (it was about 4 feet deep), so it was a good thing the water could clean itself up very well. The bridge itself was about 8 feet wide, very sturdy, and made out of wood. The traditional romantic-style era of Outo wasn't lost on Syaoran. Some beautiful trees were planted on both sides and along some streets. Before they could cross the bridge, they saw the Syn stood at the foot of it.

"Syaoran, Sakura-hime, would you mind if we had a little chat?" No one else was around, Syaoran realized regretfully.

"I'm sorry," Syaoran started, "But we're in a hurry."

"I thought you were braver than that Syaoran. Why are you fleeing to your friends? Do you feel that I might attack you?"

"I can't risk staying out these dangerous days." Syaoran said quietly.

"Oho, why do you feel these days are dangerous? Isn't it so peaceful in the Kingdom of Clow?"

"I can't just ignore everything that has happened… it hasn't ended yet."

"Very wise. But what do you feel about me?"

"You're dangerous… Something regretful might happen. I want to avoid that…"

"Do you know these things for a fact?"

"No… I can only assume and feel it."

"You are not a fool, Syaoran. You have matured quite a bit from that long journey the Witch sent you on." Syaoran stiffened. "Yes, things are getting dangerous these days. War is definitely inevitable. What should trouble you more is that war is eminent to break out on all aspects of your life, Syaoran. As for myself, I am indeed dangerous. I could kill you instantly like I had done to Fei Wong Reed's soldiers." Syaoran tensed up. "Regretful outcome? No, but I will warn you now…" He disappeared. But Syaoran felt the chill extremely close to him now. "I will attack you." Syn whispered in his ear.

"SAKURA! RUN!" Syaoran yelled as his drew his sword as he backed up quickly toward the bridge. Both Syaoran and Sakura collided into something invisible as they tried to get on the bridge.

"I don't think so." Syn sneered. Both Syaoran and Sakura went into the water, hoping the cross it. Syn was already on the other side. Syaoran stood ready, fearful, but steady as a rock.

"Sakura, run for shelter." Syaoran already had a plan in his mind. Water would definitely be to his advantage. He was very talented at moving agilely in water. His kicks were weaker, but they were definitely strong.

"Indeed, Syaoran, water would put me at a disadvantage for I cannot move very well in it. However…" Syaoran became extremely shocked as Syn took a step forward. His foot stood on the water as if it were solid ground. Suddenly, pain erupted on the side of Syaoran's face and his nose. He heard a sickening crack, his nose was broken. Syaoran had been launched out of the water with the force of the kick and suddenly felt himself slammed into the side of the bridge. Syn had caught him in midair by the throat and forced him against the wall.

"You haven't been training, Syaoran." Syn held his iron grasp as Syaoran choked. "You've gotten reckless and confident that you can stand up to anything with your determination and newfound powers." Syaoran struggled constantly.

"What surprises me is why you haven't used your Eyes yet." Syaoran stopped struggling and looked at Syn with great fear. "Afraid your other self might do something reckless?" Syaoran's other half was stirring in his sleep within Syaoran's conscious. "You will die if you do not use everything in your power." The grasp was released.

No relief time was given to Syaoran. The instant the hand was released, he felt a torrent and multitude of pain on his torso and chest area. Syn was punching extremely fast. Each blow was as devastating as a war hammer. The punches kept coming and Syaoran was still held in midair against the bridge, the forces of the punches were keeping him there. Syaoran prayed silently it would end, but each blow seemed to be harder and harder. The pain was unbearable. Syaoran let out a scream of pain. The pain stopped, Syaoran felt a sensation of cool water on his face. He struggled to force his face upward to breathe. There, he floated, face up to Syn.

"Disgusting… You're so weak." Syn kicked down on Syaoran's stomach, forcing him underwater.

"STOP IT!" Sakura was crying from the riverbank. "Please just stop." Sakura couldn't stand seeing Syaoran get hurt. Syaoran reemerged to the surface and desperately swam to Sakura. Coughing out blood and water, he stood up, shaky, but held himself against Syn.

"You're despicable, Syaoran. No redeeming qualities for the sin committed when you were born." Syaoran felt weak and confused. "You're not fit to live, not fit to fight. You deserve to die. Crawling and groping your way to stand by the skirt of a pretty girl, thinking that she would be able to help you. I will rip away each part of you, one by one. Your limbs first, then your nose, maybe your ears, if you can hear with just an eardrum. But first I will rip away what you hold most dear. I will cripple you and make you plead for death. I will kill your pretty little girlfriend first." Syn launched himself at Syaoran and kicked him on the side, throwing Syaoran away from Sakura. Syn revealed a small knife in his hand and thrust it at Sakura, only to have it held back by a gasping Syaoran.

"Don't… even… touch her…" Syaoran glared into the concealed face of Syn.

"So what if I do?" With his other hand, Syn slapped Sakura hard across the face. Sakura fell to the ground. Syaoran screamed with rage and threw Syn towards the river. Before he had a chance to recover, a flaming inferno which was Syaoran flew at Syn. Syaoran's blade was stopped by Syn's small knife, which shattered after Syaoran pulled away toward the riverbank. Syn's cloak was burnt and the hem was sliced.

"Impressive, but it isn't all that you have. You should learn to check your temper. Perhaps I should force you to look into Fear itself." A terrifying darkness enveloped Syn. Syaoran never saw anything like it before. The darkness was so void. It expressed an all-consuming and unstoppable hunger. Syaoran had never felt fear like this before, even in death. He couldn't attack, he couldn't say anything. It was so horrifying he fell to the floor and vomited. Behind him, he heard a terrible scream. Sakura was crying and shaking uncontrollably. She was lying on the ground as if the darkness was killing her. Weakly, he crawled to her side and grasped her hand. She stopped crying, but she was still shaking. Syaoran never saw so much fear in Sakura's eyes as he did now.

"S-Sakura…" Syaoran touched her cheek.

"S-S-Syao-r-ran… I-I-I'm s-so s-scared…" She couldn't stop stuttering. "T-take m-me away f-from here… I-I w-want to g-go b-back… G-Get us a-away from h-here… P-Please… Syaoran!" She was crying again.

"Sakura…" Syaoran felt sorrow and no longer feared. "Don't cry… Don't be scared… It's just a disguise… He can be beat… I'll beat him… And I'll take you back to the palace… we'll be safe there… and we'll be happy again…" Sakura didn't show any sign of recognizing Syaoran's words. Slowly, he brought his hand behind her head and brought his lips to hers. Sakura forgot everything. The sweet kiss brought back as much bliss as it could in that moment. Sakura felt warm again and didn't feel scared anymore. They pulled away.

"I'll beat him… And we'll go back and get something good to eat, okay, Sakura?" Syaoran's hand on her shoulder gave much assurance.

"Be careful… Syaoran…" Sakura looked worried. It was just as the time when the lovers said goodbye before the battle that ruined Clow.

"I will…" Syaoran stood up and turned towards the darkness. Fear was lost in his heart and mind. Fresh determination fueled him again.

"So, did your sweet little girlfriend give you what you needed?" Syn sneered and mocked.

"I thought you would've known. But then again, I can't imagine anyone who would've done the same for you…" Syaoran mocked back, but he soon felt that his insult dug deeper than he had expected.

Unexplainable rage filled the area. Syaoran readied himself, no longer afraid. Pointing his sword at the darkness, he aimed. With yell, he charged at Syn before he could express his rage.

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Elsewhere in Clow, a loud and definite battle cry of a young adolescent was heard.

"**TO HELL WITH YOU!**"

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Iroel's Note: Surprise! Looks like I got to finish one more chapter before I left to Korea . but even more evil I left it at a cliff-hanger. Lol wish me a safe trip and contemplate wutever mysteries I have brought to the story . Oh fyi, Syn was the character that I mentioned in the disclaimer in the earlier chapters, the "character that was made up." Well… ok I guess that makes two characters I made up, Invernio and Syn. Wuuutever. Reviews plz .


	16. Revelation III: New Horizon

**Chapter Sixteen: New Horizon**

--

Iroel's Note: O.o it's been a while since I've updated huh? Special shoutout to tsubasa.freak.syao.chan for inspiring me to continue on with this series (I didn't kno anyone liked my story enough to email me about it O.O)

--

Chapitre Seize_: Nouvel Horizon_

The impact was apocalyptic. Hien seemed to roar that afternoon as the blazing inferno of its core exploded upon Syaoran's target. The darkness disappeared as fast as the evaporating water and Syaoran held his blade steady, waiting for the smoke to clear and reveal his fallen victim, who was most likely impaled by the sword onto the ground of the drained river.

Syaoran's eyes widened in shock as the smoke cleared. His sword had not impaled Syn. Rather, it now pierced into the ground itself, with no evidence of ever tasting blood.

"Quite an impressive attack there, Syaoran." Syaoran felt an arm around his shoulder and he felt his heart drop with a familiar fear gripping him once more. "Let me show you one of mine." Syn whispered in Syaoran's ear with a dangerous tone.

The pain erupted instantly. Unlike anything he could have expected Syaoran's entire body experienced a crippling pain. Had Clow Country not been in the middle of a desert, Syaoran would have guessed that frostbite was the affliction. Forcing his eyes open, Syaoran met the horrifying sight. Ice had grown into a dome, surrounding him and Syn. Looking at his hands, Syaoran realized that ice was growing underneath his skin.

"Effective, isn't it?" Syn smirked. "Allow me to show you the beauty of this."

A large ice shard erupted from Syaoran's left thigh. It penetrated both sides as if he had been impaled by an oversized arrow. Syaoran suppressed a scream as the blood painted the shard.

"Don't give him the satisfaction." Syaoran whispered under his breath. "Don't scream, don't scream, don't scream…"

"Would you like it to end, Syaoran?" Syn mocked. "I could have that happen to your heart as it did to your leg, but let's have some fun, shall we?" Another shard protruded from Syaoran's palm. Syaoran bit his lip hard as his body shook rigorously, the pain echoing through the cold and frozen nervous system that had not quite yet shut down yet.

"You know," Syn continued as another shard erupted from Syaoran's foot, "The pain will go away if you bring out your power." Syaoran looked up with horrified eyes. "Don't you want to live? Your sweet girlfriend is waiting outside. Don't you want to at least take her virginity before you're killed as a martyr in the war?" For a moment, Syaoran looked with puzzled eyes, hopelessly confused by an idea he had never heard before. He did not have long to be puzzled as another ice shard erupted.

"I don't want to die…" Syaoran mused.

"_Then live…_" A voice echoed back.

"I'll lose myself."

"_Can you guarantee that?_"

"Don't… Don't come out."

"_You __**need**__ me, Syaoran. I can win this. I can work wonders for you._"

"NO!" Syaoran screamed as he lost conscious. "Please, God, no…"

Black fire exploded around Syaoran. The impaling ice vanished and Syaoran's wounds closed. Slowly, the fire formed into wings behind Syaoran and some entrapped Syaoran as protection. He looked up and the dome exploded. Sakura stared in awe and fear of her lover's power.

"Syaoran…" Sakura called out timidly. His form turned to glance at her. A carnal hunger stirred slightly within him as he momentarily distracted himself with fantasies. With a smirk that was not Syaoran's, he turned towards his enemy and sought to taunt him.

"End of the line for you, punk."

"Excuse me? I do believe I'm older and much more powerful." Syn replied back. "I take it that you're Syaoran's 'other' personality?" The dark form lunged forward at Syn.

"Why should you care about that? You're going to die anyway." Syn caught Hien with his hand, striking horror in the heart of the aggressor.

"You vastly underestimate me." Suddenly, Syn's hand lunged forward, his thumb outreached as it made contact with Syaoran's left eye. A demonic scream left the body of Syaoran as dark energies erupted and filled the place. Sakura looked on with horror.

It seemed like hours for the screaming to stop. Syaoran's body became limp, and Syn oddly laid Syaoran down gently and stroke his hair. Sakura inched her way towards both of them, dread in her heart for what happened to Syaoran.

"Relax, princess." Syn spoke and frightened Sakura. "He's not dead… In fact he's much better off now than before." Sakura noticed that none of Syaoran's eyes were missing, as there was no evidence of blood.

"What do you…" Sakura was interrupted by Syaoran's stirring. Sleepily, he opened his eyes and was startled at the sight of Syn. But, he seemed to understand that Syn wasn't going to kill him.

"Why?" Syaoran simply asked.

"I never said I would kill you, did I?" Syaoran shook his head. "Our fight has made quite the disturbance." Syaoran was suddenly aware of the huge scene of destruction around him. "I will not disclose everything to you, Syaoran. That is too dangerous at this point. So, for now," Syaoran and Sakura suddenly found it hard to keep their eyes open. "Rest and be free from your harmful side, Syaoran." Syaoran's conscious drifted with ease as he understood the purpose. Finally, before Syaoran lost all comprehension, he heard,

"I'll be keeping in touch… Little Brother."

And then he knew nothing.

--

"_How terrible a fate has befallen the Li Family."_

"_Indeed, yet the product seems so innocent and hapless."_

"_Why not kill it? We would certainly thwart Fei's plan if we did so."_

"_What crime has he committed? This child did not ask for his creation."_

"_How would you know that he is even human?"_

"_Let us wait to confirm his humanity then. It is only fair."_

"_Very well... From this day forth, we Agents will keep close watch of Li..."_

--

_Li Syaoran_.

--

He did not wake up abruptly. It was nice and warm. He felt safe and secure. Nothing could hurt him or reach him… Nothing except…

"Puu!" The white creature jumped on Syaoran's face and Syaoran started a new day. Looking around, Syaoran realized he had been carried back to his room, where he slept on his comfortable bed.

"So you're awake." Kurogane greeted Syaoran.

"Hyuu, it seemed you slept really well, despite such a horrifying battle. (Dreaming of Sakura-chan?)" That was definitely Fai, even though Syaoran could not see him. Toya and Yukito were present too, but simply stared. Syaoran was interrupted before speaking.

"It's fine, Yukito-san read your memory and Mokona projected it to us. We know everything."

"Mokona is hungry!" The small voice chimed.

"It's breakfast time. We'll meet you in the dining hall after you're ready, Syaoran-kun." He simply nodded. Finally alone, Syaoran began to change out of his night clothes when an odd thought struck him. _"Who changed me??"_ He started turning red. Brushing the thought aside, he continued on.

Halfway through and dressed only in his daily pants, he felt a very warm sensation behind him, and the familiar milky arms embraced him from behind.

"Good morning, Syao-chaaan!" The playful tone broke softly into Syaoran's heart. Again, he turned red at the concept that Sakura was seeing his bare upper body.

"Sakura, I'm changing!"

"I know." Sakura grinned. "Wow, Syaoran, you have nice muscles." Syaoran blushed again. "Oh, you're pretty tough to have gone through so much with almost no marks or scars." Sakura admired. Syaoran forgot the embarrassment for a moment and realized Sakura was right.

"But I had so many scars…" Syaoran gazed nostalgically in the mirror.

"It shouldn't matter too much, Syaoran." Sakura tugged on his arm gently to lead him away from the mirror. "Besides… I think I would feel really sad if I saw a lot of scars on you, Syaoran…" Sakura slowly recalled on the many tragedies they both experienced.

"Don't think too much about what's past, Sakura." Syaoran turned to face her and let her rest against him. "I regret nothing because it all led to moments like these where I'm with you…" Sakura felt that she was melting.

"It's not over yet, is it?" She could not keep the sadness from her voice. "You're going to look for your brother, aren't you?"

"I have to… Fei's still out there and Syn freed me from the fear of my other side." Syaoran reflected on the absence of the heavy presence in his soul.

"He hurt you badly though. He could have killed you." Sakura nudged a bit harder this time.

"Maybe it was the only way to bring out the other side. I was too afraid to unleash it."

"Syaoran… I want all this to end… I want to be happy."

"Can we be happy? It seems like the universe is bent on preventing that…"

"But we find moments where we are, Syaoran. Life is always filled with struggle. It's what makes us appreciate the moments we worked so hard for… Moments like these…" Sakura gently cuddled her head towards his shoulder.

"Then I promise you this, Sakura, we'll be happy together and enjoy more of those moments… I promise." Syaoran gently caressed Sakura's head. "Just for you, I will challenge the universe with every part of my being for our happiness…" Syaoran kissed her forehead and pulled away to put on his shirt.

"By the way, how did you slip in without me noticing?" Syaoran curiously inquired.

"I jumped from my balcony to yours." Sakura grinned with pride as Syaoran stared with shock.

"Sakura, that's dangerous! The balcony is up by about 4 stories and mine is probably 12 feet from yours." Syaoran stared in wonder about how Sakura accomplished such a dangerous task.

"I felt really energetic and Toya was keeping watch in the hallway to make sure we don't visit each other in our rooms."

"Sakura… if he's waiting out there for us to get ready… then won't he…" Syaoran didn't finish as his door burst open with a savage force emanating in its opening. Syaoran cranked his head slowly with dread.

"Ey, twerp, what's my sister doing in your bedroom…" Toya's eyes drooped with the intent clear in his eyes.

"No! NO! It's not my fault!!" Syaoran begged. "She jumped into my room." Syaoran would be holding up the (T.T) sign right now as he ran desperately to avoid Toya's imminent and eminent wrath.

--

"I envy you, Syaoran… Don't ever lose Sakura… Life will become as regretful as mine when you lose your love…"

--

It was awkwardly quiet in the dining hall. Syaoran had narrowly escaped torment beyond any other as he sat on the far opposite end of Toya, protected only by Sakura and Fai.

"Damn you white manjuu! Why do you always eat off of my plate?!" Kurogane broke the silence.

"Syaoran, wait!" Sakura cried out as Syaoran almost took a bite of his bread. "Be careful because that was at Toya's end… Who knows what he did to it." Sakura added with a whisper.

"Sakura-chan you make me melt just watching you eat and talk to your boyfriend." Tomoyo grinned and interrupted.

"Hyuu, Kuro-tan, you should be nicer to Mokona!"

"Yukito, is there a spell that can repel guys from Sakura's room and girls from Syaoran's room?" Toya was very grumpy.

"Syao-chan! I'm so tired. Let me sleep on your bed with you after breakfast… It looks so warm and comfy." Sakura sat on Syaoran's lap and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and shot Toya a look of defiance.

"Ooh, Sakura-chan, let me know if you two do that (I would melt by just staring at the pictures). And if you go even further, don't forget protection!" Tomoyo smiled mischievously. Sakura tilted her head in obvious confusion. "Aww, such innocence. (I guess no one gave either of you two the 'talk' yet, huh?)"

"Mmm, Toya-ou, would you happen to have any alcohol around?" Fai looked around hungrily.

"Oi! It's too early for that!" Kurogane glared.

"Tomoyo-chan, what were you talking about when you said 'protection'?" Sakura inquired.

"EY! Stop talking about that over there!" Toya shouted from the other end.

"Wai! I'm going to send this to Yuuko. (It's so yellow!)" Mokona swallowed the apple.

And then everything stopped as the dining hall doors flung open with an air of authority. Eriol Hikari entered with two of his finest lieutenants flanking his sides.

"Such ill manners, Toya-ou." Eriol bitterly started, "May I ask why you did not invite your ally to the breakfast table?"

"I didn't think that breakfast was a sufficient occasion to bother you with, _Prince_ Hikari." Toya responded. The dislike was evident in their voices and posture as Toya had stood to reply and Eriol stood motionless.

"Well, we did not come here to simply dine with this," Eriol looked around, "eccentric group…"

"Then I'll ask you politely to leave if you have no other purpose of interrupting our meal." Toya shot back.

"Very well," Eriol replied coolly, "We as your allying country have received orders to ensure that compensation is met for our sacrifice and cooperation in that costly battle." Everyone at the table stiffened. "Specifically, we will not leave this country without Sakura-san." Sakura simply stared at her empty plate. "If you refuse to meet these terms…" Eriol let the words hang ominously.

"Her country needs here for a while longer. So please be patient." Syaoran stated calmly.

"What right do you have to speak to me, commoner?" Eriol glared.

"He's done more to deserve my hand in marriage than you do." Sakura's gaze burned with such ferocity that Eriol stiffened. "Wait at least two weeks to get my affairs in order… April 1st is only two more days from now…" Everyone but Eriol understood, or so they thought.

"I will wait." He turned away quietly as Sakura's eyes began to water.

"It's ok, Sakura…" Toya came over to comfort her. "I won't let that creep have you. We'll figure out something." Sakura hiccupped and calmed down slightly. "Your birthday is coming soon. I'll make sure you have a great time." Sakura stood and headed towards her room.

"Let me know if you need me…" She said quietly.

--

Eriol's words echoed in Syaoran's mind as he strolled around the palace grounds. Commoner… that's who he was, that's who he'll always be, therefore he could never hope to be with Sakura… not while that status kept him limited. Not when tradition dictated that such a relationship was forbidden…

True, he was a hero, he thought. He had atoned for his crimes and restored the beautiful city. The people's wrath and vengeance subsided as calm acceptance of the situation took over the grateful hearts. He was a victim, many came to understand. He laid down his life for their beloved Princess. It wasn't his fault that he had been a hapless puppet.

And thus, many of the country's girls took peculiar notice of him. Syaoran couldn't understand this very well as his mind was hopelessly innocent on such matters. He was always confused by those times he caught groups of girls staring at him when he helped carry heavy loads of supply for repair (as his magic had run out in the long hours of restoration and he grew fatigued).

He realized he had much to be thankful for as he reflected on those sweet and blissful times he spent with Sakura. Suddenly he felt very nostalgic to hold her again, to kiss her tender lips again. _It's only been a few minute and I already miss her… _He suddenly realized how painful it would be for him to lose Sakura or never be able to see her again. His heart ached even more at the thought of this. He reached the private and secluded garden where Sakura once took him to play. He wished even harder that he could have her here with him to ease this aching.

He felt an achingly familiar touch as his hand was gently grasped. Instinctively, he brought the fresh and lovely maiden in front of him and embraced her from behind, his arms wrapping around her stomach. The aching disappeared and they both gazed at the lonely tree of the garden in the beautiful silence, understanding each other in that moment more than anyone else ever could.

"Thank you…"

--

Iroel's note: Wooo! Another chapter complete! I've been finding extended periods of time where I've had nothing to do, soooo expect much more updates .

Again, special shoutout to my devoted fan who emailed me for the continuation of this fanfic. Now off to geek out on warcraft )


	17. Sweet 16: A Memorable Night

**Chapter Seventeen: A Memorable Night**

**--**

Iroel's note: Hmm new chapter. Bit of a warning, sexual content in this chapter. This borders greatly between T and M, soo… but I'm trying my best to write a semi-lemon scene )

I'll be bringing this fic to a close a lot earlier than I expected, mostly because I've looked over the whole thing and decided that it is… terrible -- so it'll probably go up a few more chapters and we'll be done. I WILL be starting on a new fic out of pure inspiration and not out of boredom an AU fic )

I feel a bit discouraged from the prolonging of this fic not because of how many readers I have, but rather because the actual plot of the manga is swerving to a direction I would have NEVER predicted and has lost its happy-go-lucky innocent atmosphere /

Enjoy.

--

Chapitre Dix-sept: Une nuit Mémorable

--

Dawn approached sleepily, but happily on the first day of April; it would be a nice day with breezy temperatures… for a desert country that is. Inhabitants of Clow seemed extra cheerful today; a natural lift tugged their souls with a natural pride and joy of their lives and fellow men.

One who lived in this country would wake and wonder why he or she was so happy on this particular day. Such was a day no different from ones before, so why the natural lift? And then, in a moment, the explanation would come: today is Princess Sakura's sixteenth birthday. Oh, how the older women would reminisce and dote on their precious princess, coming to such a sweet age on such a sweet day.

Of course, the males of the country would act quite peculiar throughout the day… or more specifically, those males who were attending the palace's extravagant dinner party. Looking over their formal attires and scents diligently, each one had a wild fantasy of maybe winning the princess' heart. After all, this may be the closest they would be to Sakura in a very long time… trouble seemed to loom over the horizon ahead… why not live life out full blast?

Ironically, one person in this country woke up with an absolutely terrible and almost tragic start…

Princess Sakura.

--

"Ohh, my head." Sakura coughed and complained as Yukito looked over her sadly.

"Bad luck, Princess Sakura, you caught a cold."

"HA HA HA HA! Who catches a cold towards the end of spring?!" Toya mocked playfully.

"Ni-san, don't tease me like that!" Sakura shot her brother a piercing look.

"Heh… that is the benefit of age: I have conquered many diseases to laugh at the younger ones' sufferings."

"Toya… I think you should stop." Yukito warned.

"Ni-san, you might have gotten older physically, but still you act like a little kid! How do you expect to get a bride like that?" Sakura shot back as Toya suddenly cringed with pain feeling the comment stab right through him. Sakura grinned, "I win."

"Sakura… how are you feeling now?" Syaoran entered with Kurogane and Fai behind him.

"OY, kid, what did I tell you about coming into my sister's room!?" Toya recovered from his devastating defeat. Syaoran walked right past him to his lover's side. "Ey, the king is addressing you!"

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Syaoran looked back with obvious oblivion of the situation. Toya felt the cringing pain again.

"Damn kids these days…" Toya walked out with shameful defeat.

"Syao-chan!" Sakura beamed cheerful. "I'm fine, it's just a mild cold… but I'm so unlucky." Sakura frowned.

"I guess your good luck has run out." Syaoran stroke Sakura's hair gently and affectionately.

"Couldn't it have happened after today?" Sakura sighed.

"Can anyone check the storage areas for a cure?" Syaoran inquired worriedly to a soldier nearby.

"I'll check again and consult the herbalist." He replied.

--

"Let's see… a cure for the princess?" The herbalist led the soldier inside. "Towards the end of this row, there is a possible cure on the middle shelf." The herbalist stopped at a dusty row.

"Thank you, sempai." The soldier headed to the end of the row.

Unfortunately, the herbalist, being the aged man he is, has terrible vision and had mistaken the row with the actual cure by one row. The soldier was looking in a section filled with god knows what forsaken substances.

--

"Princess, here is a cure." He held a small cup containing a red substance; there was very little left of the cure, as there was only one jar left filled about a quarter of the total volume.

"It smells like blood." Sakura frowned and chugged the entire cup.

"Sakura, I brought the cure! The herbalist warned me that he accidently showed the soldier the wrong row!" Syaoran burst in desperately with a jar filled with a clear liquid. Unfortunately, Sakura swallowed the exact moment he entered and looked at Syaoran with dread.

"What did I just drink…?" Sakura nervously asked. Toya, Yukito, Kurogane, Fai, and Mokona entered. And then…

Without warning, Sakura began to scream and spasm violently. She couldn't control her body and began to feel a crippling pain throughout her entire body. Her back arched forward and her arms contorted strangely as if to defy her existing range of motion. Her beautiful emerald eyes began shifting color to a mischievous yellow and her cornea was almost like a snake's; a thin slit of black. After a few more minutes, Sakura was silent and laid on her bed unnaturally still.

"Please give me death!" The soldier cried and kneeled to the king.

"Relax… she's not dead." Kurogane said quietly, peering at the body and noticing the slight breathing.

"That was quite frightening, though… is she okay?" Fai was concerned.

"Sakura…" Syaoran gently held her hand.

Suddenly,

"Kyaa! Syao-chan, save me!" Sakura propped up suddenly and embraced Syaoran playfully in mock fear.

"Sakura! You're okay?" Syaoran felt relieved.

"Yup!" Sakura grinned. Syaoran touched her forehead: it wasn't the fiery inferno as before. He checked her pulse and found it regular, and finally, her emerald and adorkable eyes were the same.

"You think that really was a cure?" Syaoran looked towards the others.

"Who cares! Syaoran, we got a big banquet to host today! Let's go!" Sakura grabbed Syaoran's arm and dashed off for the banquet hall.

--

Back in the banquet hall, Tomoyo was watching over the busy servants to ensure a perfect party for her adorable princess. She found herself drifting slowly into a fantasy before she was interrupted, quite rudely, by a strong nudge. Of course, upon discovering that it was Sakura herself, Tomoyo did not begrudge the interruption.

"Wah! My cute princess!" Tomoyo snuggled her cheek with Sakura's.

"Your cute princess?" Syaoran was behind them casting a grudging glare at Tomoyo.

"You two, play nice while I go look around." Sakura ran off lightly and blissfully. Tomoyo decided she would run after her, until Syaoran grabbed her by the arm.

"Hey, listen, Tomoyo-san," Syaoran had an urgent look on his face, "Can you take a look at Sakura real fast? She drank something very unusual and even though it cured her sickness, I'm concerned about any unseen complications." Tomoyo nodded.

"My cute princess! Come over here real fast, I have an absolutely adorable dress for you." Tomoyo waved Sakura to come over.

--

"Now, stand still for a moment." Tomoyo instructed Sakura.

"Where's Syao-chan?" Sakura looked around playfully.

"He can enjoy the cuteness of the dress later. Now, hold still!" Tomoyo placed her hands on Sakura's forehead. A purple light emanated around the two of them and slowly began to focus on Sakura's body. After a few minutes, it disappeared. Sakura blinked, wondering at what had happened and became very alarmed when she looked on Tomoyo's face.

"What's wrong…?"

"Sakura… when did you drink vampire blood?"

"What are you talking about?!" Sakura was troubled now.

"That 'weird thing' that you drank to cure your sickness, did it smell like blood?" Tomoyo asked and grew even more frightened when Sakura nodded.

"Then… does that mean…?" Sakura trembled

"You are a vampire now, Sakura…"

"Tomoyo! What do I do?!" Sakura was starting to grow hysterical.

"Relax, Sakura. I'm sure you can still live normally despite this… little problem."

"But this means I have to go on hurting people!"

"Not so, Sakura. Vampires have to have a single 'prey' to feed off of. They don't just indiscriminately attack people and drink their blood."

"But I still have to hurt one person…"

"You can take that person's blood to an amount that won't kill, but enough to satisfy your thirst."

"So only blood will satisfy me?"

"You can still eat, Sakura, but that's only for enjoyment. Try to see the small blessings in this, Sakura. You won't get sick anymore and your body will restore itself to its original state after any injury or disfigurement." Tomoyo tried to cheer up Sakura. "I'm so jealous, this means you can eat as much as you want and not get fat!"

"But… that one person…"

"Yeah… there's still that issue, huh?" Tomoyo pondered. "My suggestion is Syaoran."

"I could never bring myself to that!" Sakura shot back horrified.

"Then who will you choose? Syaoran would gladly give his blood for you."

"I can't stand to hurt him… he's gone through so much already… So please, don't tell him that I'm a vampire." Sakura pleaded.

"He'll accept you no matter what, Sakura."

"I'm not scared of that… I know he loves me… But that's the problem." Sakura's voice had a small whine to it. "He loves me too much that he'd do anything for me… I want to lighten his burden…"

"Then what will you do about your nourishment?"

"I'll figure something out." Sakura opened the door.

"There you are!" Syaoran had turned towards the open door looking for his lover. "What's wrong…" Syaoran noticed Sakura's gloomy eyes.

"I have… a small dietary problem." Sakura frowned. "My stomach turned all weird after drinking that weird stuff. But don't worry! It'll get better soon." Sakura beamed.

"Oh… okay." Relief was evident in Syaoran's eyes. He intended to go back to helping the servants when he tripped on a small box behind him.

"Syaoran! Are you ok?" Sakura looked worried.

"Yeah…" Syaoran struggled to get back up. However, while he was still on the floor, Sakura caught notice of his finely toned abs, and a part of his bicep was revealed in the fall. An inexplicable feeling came over Sakura for a moment and she grew puzzled at what this mysterious craving was. Tomoyo had caught the feeling by looking at Sakura's eyes and understood immediately.

"Sakura, stay back for a moment, I need to talk to you about something else. You, there! Shoo!" Tomoyo repelled Syaoran back to work.

"Tomoyo, what's wrong?" Sakura grew worried again.

"Did anyone give you the 'talk' yet?"

"The 'talk'?" Sakura inquired. "What is it about?"

"No one told you anything about… hormones or… development??"

"Hormones? What's that?" Sakura was even more curious.

"Never mind… Stand still for a moment." Tomoyo's palm began to glow purple. Without warning, Tomoyo struck Sakura in the stomach with a powerful blow.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura coughed. "What was that for?!"

"It's for your protection, Sakura." Tomoyo frowned. That spell alone might not be enough. "Stand up Sakura." Tomoyo's palm began to glow again.

"No! That stuff hurts so much."

"Sakura, it's for your own good!" Tomoyo struck the helpless Sakura who was lying on the ground. "Okay, all done!" Tomoyo beamed as Sakura cringed on the floor.

"Tomoyo!" Sakura protested.

"You'll be fine now." Tomoyo winked.

"What was wrong before?"

"Nothing!" Sakura cast a suspicious look.

--

"What'd you do to my sister!?" Toya angrily shouted at Tomoyo in the desolate hallway.

"You'll thank me later."

"Explain."

"Okay, your sister is now a vampire. Get that in your head." Toya jolted at the abrupt fact.

"Now, she is safe from diseases and wounds and has been enhanced physically, at the price of feeding off of someone."

"Okay…"

"Another unfortunate fact is that your sister now has a very compulsive sex drive." Tomoyo frowned. "Every living thing has a basic impulse to reproduce… but vampires are persecuted creatures, so their impulse is much greater."

"I'll kill anyone who sleeps with my sister!"

"Relax, the spells I used on her are to protect her from that. The first one keeps her from getting pregnant."

"OH, that's just great, isn't it? Sex without consequences!"

"Shut up and listen! The second one prevents Sakura's body from being violated sexually."

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Gross… I'm not interested in guys like you." Tomoyo glared.

"So, Sakura won't be able to have sex until marriage." Toya grinned. "What will happen if someone tries?"

"If they try against her will, they will get scorched." Toya looked gleeful. "If she consents, the guy will get knocked out." Toya frowned.

"Oh, you evil son of a…" Tomoyo was interrupted by Kurogane and Fai.

"Well that's reassuring." Fai grinned. "But it would have been interesting to see how two kids with no sexual education would have gotten the job done."

"Freakin' pervert…" Toya glared.

"No, I'm just curious." Fai grinned.

"Since when have you been able to do something like that, Tomoyo?" Kurogane was curious now.

"I picked it up somewhere from one of the dimensions that I was fused from." Tomoyo frowned, unable to remember.

"Mokona wants to party! Let's stop this boring talk!" Mokona chimed.

--

It was quite an enjoyable party for everyone. The country had come along well and had nearly recovered completely from the devastating battle. All hardships were forgotten with the finest food (in most cases, wine) and the party-goers were satisfied.

Little kids were absolutely taken up by Mokona, fascinated at the many things the adorable and small manjuu could do. "I'll send this to Yuko!" Mokona swallowed a very large case of the party's finest wine. "Oy! White manjuu, I was going to drink that!" Kurogane angrily stampeded towards poor Mokona.

Many of the girls were noticeably enamored of the males at the party: specifically Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai, dressed identically in formal attires that hinted an air of nobility and crispness. "Oh, look at his hair! It's so beautiful, so light!" "He's so fierce, so strong!" "He looks so innocent and handsome… How cute!" These were the typical comments thrown around noticeably and audibly. Prince Eriol (who had been grumpy at the fact that no one had notified him of Sakura's birthday) grew even more sullen when he found that none of the girls were doting over him.

And let's not forget the scores of young, ambitious, and hormonal males attempting to score on the adorable princess. Many found themselves quite disappointed when Sakura mysteriously disappeared when one tried to approach her and give her a gift. "I'll make sure she receives it." A handsomely dressed servant who attended Sakura's side served as the useful wall to these impulsive men. The lucky few who would eventually got to meet Sakura personally were noticeably drooling and dazed by her innocence and her adorable white dress (courtesy of yours truly, Tomoyo would often say). On that same thought, many of the males would attempt to rebound with the attractive sidekick, only to be slightly disappointed and very peculiarly turned on when she would reply, "Sorry, I'm not interested in men… Sakura is a completely different story, however."

Kurogane, Toya, Fai, and Tomoyo masked their caution, however. Each took a careful oversight of Sakura to ensure that she would stay out of trouble; there was no telling what the vampire blood would make her do. Thankfully, she was the cheerful and innocent princess as usual, not remotely close to a blood-craving creature.

"Kurogane-san…" Syaoran looked worried. "Why are you and Fai watching Sakura so closely?" Kurogane was startled that the kid had noticed.

"It's nothing serious, don't be concerned… we're just looking out for her in case someone tries to do something funny…" Syaoran nodded and turned away, still disturbed.

All in all, it was an enjoyable night… given few interesting instances (many attendants now knew exactly how well Prince Eriol could hold his liquor) and curious whispers on Sakura's sudden recovery. "Wasn't she bed-ridden earlier today?" "Must be her good luck to have recovered so fast." To summarize a few of the comments. By the end of the party the guests were in a cheerful mood, but were neither reluctant nor thankful to leave the palace. Laughter echoed as party-goers waltzed back into the quiet city. Of course, this took quite some time as a significant portion of Clow (about a fourth) had attended Sakura's birthday. Finally, the last guest had left and the guards closed the gates in near relief and dread of a coming chores and cleanup duties.

"Syaoran, you don't have to clean up too!" Sakura pinched back Syaoran's shirt.

"Oy, kid, go and help clean up the mess that stupid Prince left behind." Toya grumpily bossed and interrupted the couple.

"Syaoran," Sakura whispered, "Stay in my room for tonight." She grinned as Syaoran started to blush.

"Sakura…" Syaoran started to reason out the situation.

"I wake up some nights and I feel really lonely without you, Syaoran." Sakura's voice began to slightly plead. "I kept thinking of how much I wanted you next to me while I slept…"

"But what about your brother?" Syaoran prayed that she would find a way past that problem. Sakura brought him closer and started to whisper in his ear.

--

"GO TO YOUR ROOM, BRAT!" Toya yelled at Syaoran who was evidently trying to escort Sakura to her room. Grudgingly, Syaoran went to his room.

"Ni-san, you meanie!" Sakura glared at Toya and grumpily marched into her own room.

Several minutes passed and Toya was still stationed in the hallway between the two rooms. Something wasn't right, he mused to himself. He knocked on Syaoran's door.

"Oy, kid, OPEN UP!" Toya decided to kick down the door anyway. Syaoran was sleeping peacefully in his bed. "OY!" Toya pushed Syaoran off his bed.

"Was that necessary?!" Syaoran glared grumpily.

"You are terrible… It's only been a few minutes and you expect me to believe you're sound asleep?!" Toya felt bloated with pride. "Plus, you're still wearing your regular clothes."

"Please leave so I can change and sleep peacefully." Syaoran frowned.

"No… I'll sit here until I KNOW you're asleep." Syaoran proceeded grumpily and felt slight embarrassment, only to feel slightly cheered up when he realized that Toya was quiet out of jealousy and inability to insult Syaoran's finely toned body. Slowly, he turned off the lights and climbed into bed to sleep. Toya sat there for about half an hour and left… without repairing the door.

"I'm putting you and the next night shifts to watch this kid. Don't let him leave his room." Toya spoke to a soldier patrolling the hallway. The soldier nodded and stood position.

--

Back in Sakura's room earlier from when Toya put the soldier to guard Syaoran, Sakura heard a tap on her balcony door. Grinning, she opened the door.

"Syao-chan! Ni-san thinks he's so smart." She wore a look of satisfaction and smug victory.

"_Syaoran, listen closely: Make a copy of yourself and make it look like you're still in your room to mislead Toya. Jump across the balcony to mine afterwards."_

"You look so formal." Sakura frowned. "What about your night clothes?"

"I forgot to change before I came… That almost gave me away to the King."

"How long will your copy last?"

"I charged a lot of magical power into a large gem to keep the copy sustained. It can hold up until noon tomorrow."

"Well, I'll go to sleep after I change." Sakura began to strip slowly, grinning at Syaoran's extremely red face. "Don't close your eyes!" Sakura pleaded.

"But…"

"It's not embarrassing." Sakura grinned. "I'm just changing clothes." Syaoran went over to sit on the bed, determined to slow down his heartbeat. _Why am I so nervous?_

At that moment, Sakura's door flung wide open.

"Ni-san!" Sakura covered herself with her clothes that she took off.

"Oh, quiet you, it's not like you're completely naked." Toya looked around carefully. He could have sworn he felt a breeze of air when he entered. He caught notice of the open balcony and determined the source of the wind. "You're going to catch a cold if you leave that open." He started to walk over towards it before Sakura sped suddenly to close the door.

"I'll keep it closed." Sakura looked very nervous. Toya was very suspicious.

"Use this too." Toya tossed her a lock which she seemed to begrudge. _Aha! I win again!_ "If that lock breaks or is unlocked, I'll know instantly." Toya looked unbelievably smug.

"Ni-san! LEAVE!" Sakura started tossing her shoes at her brother.

"Ow… I'm leaving, okay?" Toya massaged his eyes as he left; some sand had gotten in his eyes. The door slammed shut and all was quiet for several minutes.

"That was close…" Syaoran sighed in relief. He had taken position above the doorway, using the perpendicular walls to keep grip.

"Syao-chan, you're so fast!" Sakura admired.

"It's a good thing we left the door open, or that breeze of wind from my movement would have given us away.

"And, we're lucky that Toya had to rub his eyes when he walked out of the room." Sakura grinned. Syaoran sat back on the bed and stared at the floor. "Syaoran, you're so conservative that it's so adorable." Sakura was behind Syaoran now.

Syaoran turned to see Sakura in a two-piece lingerie. Her belly was exposed, as usual, and the clothes had an innocent, pure look to them. He was petrified.

"C'mon, Syaoran, you're not going to sleep in those nice clothes are you?" Embarrassingly, he took off his shoes and attire and was left with his usual sleeveless black shirt and ordinary long pants (dang that must be really hot to wear clothes like that underneath). He laid back and put the blanket over him.

"Good night, Sakura." Syaoran had seemed to calm down slightly.

"Syao-chan!" Sakura protested, "Don't go to sleep now! It's still pretty early."

"But what do we do then?" Sakura simply shrugged. Sitting there, Syaoran thought of something and began to ache in realizing the absence of a certain pleasure.

"When was the last time we kissed?" Syaoran asked. Sakura giggled and planted a sweet kiss on Syaoran's lips. It wasn't exaggerated or extremely intimate; they were both still oblivious to that. Syaoran gently grabbed and rubbed Sakura's shoulders as they held together. Sakura moaned slightly. After a short while, they pulled apart. Sakura sat there grinning.

It was quite a painful dilemma for the innocent couple. They sat there not quite tired and very bored. Sakura gazed around her room, wishing for inspiration on what they could do to have fun. She caught notice of her dress still lying on the ground. It was Sakura's turn to blush.

"Syaoran…" Sakura seemed to get redder by the moment. "Are you… curious?" Syaoran tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Syaoran followed her eyes to the dress on the floor and began to understand the question before Sakura continued.

"Aren't you… curious about… what's under… my clothes?" Sakura had trouble saying her words.

"I thought you weren't embarrassed." Syaoran was blushing furiously too.

"Well… this time… I won't be covered." Sakura explained herself. "Syaoran… I'm curious too…" Syaoran understood this too. "I've never been this close with a boy before…"

"I…" Syaoran stumbled.

"I know!" Sakura lightened up, but was still red. "We can play a little game. Each time we lose, we have to take off an article of clothing!" Sakura giggled and Syaoran could manage nothing more than a nod.

"We'll ask each other questions, and if one of us gets a question wrong, that person loses!" Sakura grinned.

"Do… Do you… want to go first?" Syaoran was trembling furiously.

"Okay!" Sakura thought for a moment. "Ah! Let's make them personal questions to see how well we know each other!" Syaoran thought for a moment. "So, first question: what's my favorite color?" Syaoran choked. Had she ever told him her favorite color? Now he was more embarrassed that he did not know the answer to this question more than the idea that he or she would have to strip.

"Um… is… it… pink?" Syaoran wondered if girls all had the same color

"No! It's white!" Sakura huffed in mock anger. "Shame on you! You don't know my favorite color?!" Sakura hoped that Syaoran would not realize the lie immediately; Pink was actually her favorite color.

"Syao-chan, off goes one of your clothes!" Sakura teased as Syaoran complied by taking off his shirt. Sakura was sure that his face would burn her hands if she touched it. "Syaoran, it's not like I haven't seen you without your shirt." Sakura grinned. "Your turn!"

"Ok… ehh…" Syaoran thought for a moment. "How many people were on the excavation team for the ruins?" Sakura slumped in obvious defeat

"That's not a personal question!" Sakura protested

"But archeology is one of my occupations. Besides, as princess, wouldn't you know the answer?" Syaoran regained composure as he teased her.

"Mmm… You had thirty people on your team!" Sakura hoped she was right.

_Damn, what a lucky guess._ "Wrong!" Syaoran teased. He was silenced very quickly when Sakura's upper part of the two-piece lingerie came off immediately, revealing her bra. He pleaded silently for forgiveness and knew that his face must look quite unusual, but he couldn't help but to stare at Sakura's oddly adorable womanhood; modest in size, but still attractive.

"My turn." Sakura had a look of fierce determination to win. It was more than evident that she was embarrassed too; her face was pink, as typical. "What book was I reading at that magical country with the big library?"

"Alice in Wonderland." Syaoran said with precise certainty and was hit in the face by the lower part of Sakura's attire almost a second after answering. "Sakura," Syaoran frowned, "You take off your clothes so fast…" Sakura grinned and felt amused knowing that Syaoran would again be petrified by her panties. "I don't… think that we should lose if we answer a question correctly…" Syaoran hoped to keep on his clothes and tire out Sakura so they could innocently go to bed.

"Have it your way." Sakura giggled. "But I'll stay like this because I won't lose from now on."

Surprisingly, this carried them on for a few hours, mostly because of the short conversations they would have when something interesting or highly reminiscent came up. But through these hours, they were still in the same spot: Sakura in her bra and panties and Syaoran with only his long pants. Sakura couldn't help but feel aroused just by looking at Syaoran. Her curiosity intensified, wondering what this desire was and what it was about Syaoran that had her feeling this way. Syaoran couldn't help but feel the same way; he wondered at what exactly he was craving for. Finally,

"Sakura, what city (not country) does Yuko-san reside in?" Sakura felt the apprehension and wondered at what would happen now.

"Tokyo?" Syaoran shook his head. Sakura was very hesitant now. It wasn't like before where she could just casually toss her clothes. How will he respond to her bareness? She wondered.

"Sakura, I think we should go to sleep now… don't take it off, let's just call it a night…" Syaoran turned to lie down.

"No… Syaoran… let's go… a bit further…" She reached behind her back.

"I don't want to make you do something that you don't want to, Sakura."

"It's not that I don't want to do this, Syaoran… I'm just… scared."

"Why?"

"Will I… be good enough?" Sakura whispered.

"You've been perfect for me since I met you…" Syaoran comforted her. "But you don't have to do this if you…" He fell silent because Sakura undid her bra.

He silently admired the freshness and innocent quality of her breasts and suddenly had a strange urge to feel them. They looked so soft and smooth. He couldn't help but examine each small detail, as an archeologist did most of the time. Sakura and Syaoran's faces were both turning redder in the silence of the moment. Sakura wished her heart would stop beating so hard, wished that this nervousness would go away, and wished so hard for Syaoran to touch her.

"Your turn… Sakura…" Syaoran whispered.

"No… let's stop with the questions." Syaoran looked mildly relieved. "Let's… play around a bit…" Sakura hoped that those words were enough to tell Syaoran that he was invited to indulge further into his curiosity and rest any persistent questions Syaoran might have. His face seemed to be absorbing much of his blood tonight. His hands were trembling uncontrollably, but he could not move them to touch his beloved and innocent princess. "Syaoran…" She whispered.

Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand with both of her delicate hands. "It's ok… I want you to…" She didn't finish and simply brought his hand to her right one. Syaoran's hand fidgeted slightly and he constantly questioned if he was allowed to do such a thing. Those slow, uncertain, and innocent movements were consistent; extraordinarily gentle for her delicate and fresh body. Slowly she began to lie down.

Out of instinct, Syaoran's other hand began to mimic his right one as he slowly moved to gain dominance over Sakura as she began to moan slightly and felt a part of her mysterious craving sated. But there was something more that urged her on. She began to notice that the craving seemed to focus at the fork of her legs. Syaoran also realized this, but neither of them knew that the desire was the same for both of them, and both were too nervous to invite each other.

"Syaoran… I'm still curious…" Syaoran was petrified once more. Still blushing, he began to unbuckle his pants. He paused for a moment at his boxers and looking back at Sakura he discovered that she had taken off her last piece of clothing; she was now completely bare. She was sitting with her knees forward and her feet at her backside. Her shoulders slumped forward and her hands rested in between her thighs. She was trembling at the embarrassment. Syaoran moved closer to her, his curiosity surpassed his embarrassment as he again laid his eyes on Sakura.

Syaoran decided to experiment again with his hands. He brought them slowly to the newly exposed part of Sakura's body and repeated what he was earlier familiar with. Her moaning intensified and Syaoran saw Sakura's back arch forward in obvious pleasure. He continued to fondle. Of course, by now, Syaoran began to observe these effects and turned attention to his own body, realizing a way to cure his crave. No, it's too selfish… What if I'm wrong and she gets hurt? He thought.

"Syaoran… I'm still curious." Sakura whispered. Syaoran remembered and made himself bare just as Sakura was. Sakura was intently focused now, observing the obvious differences of structure between her and her lover. She too, began to realize the solution. But what if it hurts him? Sakura slowly brought her hands to the new discovery to imitate Syaoran's earlier actions. Syaoran let out a soft moan this time. Their eyes met and without speaking, the understood.

"Do you…?" Syaoran trembled.

"Only if you want to…" Sakura replied blushing.

"Don't let me continue if… it hurts…"

"I don't think… Even if it does… don't stop if you like it…" Sakura lay down on her back, waiting for her ever-consuming curiosity to end. And then…

They felt the sweet and wonderful sensation. Syaoran found himself amazed at this strange new feeling. Sakura moaned in obvious and approving pleasure. They held together for a few moments. Syaoran, feeling disappointed at the fact that there was no additional pleasure, began to back out.

"Syaoran… wait…" She stopped him and pulled him back close. They both felt the pleasure again, slightly higher and better than before. And then, they both understood. Experimenting, Syaoran repeated the movement and noticed the curiously increasing pleasure. How would it feel faster? He wondered. He carried out his curiosity. Each time, Sakura breathed hard and moaned slightly louder each time. Eventually, those moans would become distorted and interrupted with the increasing speed. It felt so good. Her moans began to prolong over repeated thrusts.

It was quite fortunate that the walls were thick enough to silence the sounds.

Sakura lost track of how long they had been doing this. It seemed like hours on end, but she wasn't complaining. How much longer could this last? She wondered. The pleasure began to escalate, but Sakura was feeling slightly impatient. What was she waiting for? She wondered. Syaoran was also wondering at this mysterious impatience. Unlike Sakura, he had a better sense of time and understood that it had been about twelve minutes since he'd been doing this motion. He felt tired, but he wanted to go on. His muscles seemed to scream with protest, but he felt something driving him forward.

"Syaoran… are you tired?" Syaoran paused slightly, looking Sakura in the eye.

"A little bit…"

"Can I…?" Sakura didn't have to finish her sentence as she instinctively maneuvered around to be on top of Syaoran. It was an unusual and a completely foreign procedure for her, but she imitated what Syaoran had done. The sensational pleasure was almost crippling; she couldn't go as fast as Syaoran had. She still relished the challenge and sought to satisfy her craving. She felt concerned however. Was Syaoran enjoying this?

"Syaoran… I can't go any faster… is this fine?" Syaoran simply nodded, but Sakura could see and feel that it wasn't equally as pleasing for him. Syaoran began to imitate previous actions and began to fondle Sakura's womanhood once more. It was different now; he felt the tips a bit more prominently than before. This continued on for quite a while, but Sakura's moans were softer now. Eventually, Sakura could not keep up the motions and, out of reluctance of her crave, she had to minimize her movements.

"Now you're tired too, aren't you?" Syaoran teased.

"But I don't want to stop here…" Sakura pleaded.

"When will we be satisfied?"

"I don't know…"

"Let me try again…" Syaoran shifted again.

This time, Syaoran was standing on the floor by the bed's edge. There was a slight height difference as Sakura's lower body had to be lurched upward by Syaoran's hands. But this, Syaoran thought, was a bit easier, as he was constricted by the bed earlier. Syaoran's muscles began to scream… or maybe that was Sakura's moans increasing in volume… Either way, he kept going, determined to satisfy both Sakura and him. Another ten minutes passed and Syaoran struggled to keep consistency.

"Syaoran… Can I try now?" Sakura was curious on how hard it was for Syaoran. They shifted again so Sakura could attempt the similar position, but not for long. Each thrust was too difficult for Sakura; the pleasure further constricted her along with the physical challenge. They were both lying on their sides, still together.

"Is it that hard for you?" Syaoran teased. Sakura nodded in obvious frustration and sadness.

"How long have we been doing this…?" Sakura wondered

"Maybe forty minutes?"

"I'm still not satisfied… are you?" Syaoran shook his head. "My body is telling me to go to sleep… What about you?"

"Something's screaming at me to keep going… but I'm tired too… Let me try something new now…" Syaoran shifted around so that Sakura was still lying on her side and he was still inside. Another twenty minutes passed by, but this seemed to work a bit better as Syaoran and Sakura felt the increasing pleasure. His muscles ached again, but he fought through it and kept increasing in speed. Sakura's moans escalated. Five minutes went by and the pleasure was escalating still. Syaoran started to moan now as he continued. His muscles attempted to lock his movements, but his will forced his way through to continue. He began to fondle one of Sakura's once more. The pleasure rose higher and higher and higher. Both of their moans were almost on the same level as Syaoran and Sakura struggled to keep their eyes open despite the crippling pleasure. It continued to escalate and escalate. Syaoran's lust began pushing forward for more; impatience had begun to reach its peak. Sakura's crave was reaching its peak in satisfaction, impatience was also present as it continued to yearn and detest the long wait.

And then, at the same time, their minds went blank with utter ecstasy and they felt the absolute satisfaction wrap over their minds and nerves. Syaoran loved it; the feeling felt so natural, so right. Sakura felt the overwhelming satisfaction and they both felt the sudden relaxation and ease. The only other feeling Syaoran could conceive was that on his hand; Sakura's tip had peaked in its prominence.

"Unngh, Syaoran…" Sakura spoke his name as a moan and stressed the intimacy present from their overheating and tired bodies.

"Unngh…" Syaoran closed his eyes as the pleasure wrapped over his mind. He lay down on his side at the end of the sensation, breathing quite hard from his labors. Sakura smiled such an inconceivably innocent smile.

"Can we sleep like this?" Sakura whispered.

"I'm too tired to get out anyway…" Syaoran panted as he turned to lay flat on his back. Sakura rested her head on his chest.

"You're breathing so hard… It's going to be hard to sleep." Sakura kept teasing.

"Hey, I did most of the work… But your bed is so wet now…" Syaoran felt the uncomfortable sensations on top of the blankets. With what little strength he had, he brought the blanket over both of them. The cold had crept into the room, but neither one of them took notice as they snuggled together in the intimate and blissful warmth. Despite the usually obscene nature of the actions they committed, they were so remarkably innocent before, during, and after the encounter. It felt so natural and innocent.

"Do you think we did something bad…?" Sakura sounded slightly worried

"It doesn't feel bad…" Syaoran replied tiredly. His eyes were closed. Sakura decided that she and Syaoran needed to sleep. She closed her eyes.

"Syaoran… thank you… so much… I had such a wonderful night…" Sakura couldn't stop smiling as she drifted from consciousness. Her sweet dreams that night would not match the pleasure and blissfulness of the experience.

--

Iroel's note: Soo… how was that? ) it is quite a challenge, really, to write a sex scene without making it so obscene, obvious, and explicit / I hope it was as enjoyable to read as it was for me to write D

Feedback, yes? All benefits go towards future fics XD and yes, I DID use the word "adorkable" )

HOLY &# 6750 words?! O.o my longest chapter yet.


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